Amidst the 43-day United States government shutdown, many government employees, including members of the military, were put on furlough, causing paychecks to be suspended until the government was reopened. However, during this difficult time for many Americans, Grayslake Central High School still took the time to recognize the people in its community who are, or once were, members of the U.S. military. While the Veterans Day assembly and breakfast is an annual tradition at GCHS, the Nov. 11, 2025 event felt especially meaningful to many of its attendees.
“The presence of the veterans and all the students who have connections [to the veterans], who have a family member, a mom or dad, or whoever else they have chosen to honor… to see students interact and feel proud about them [makes the assembly special],” said superintendent Mikkel Storaasli.
For GCHS, it is crucial that, during the assembly, the visiting veterans feel celebrated and welcomed into the school. Every veteran present gets a moment to be recognized, no matter the branch they served in or how long they were active for, if at all. Dr. Storaasli has noted that his favorite part of the assembly is when Principal Dan Landry calls on the veterans to stand up and receive recognition based on their branch of service and the eras they have served in.
“It’s so nice to be at breakfast and sit down at a table with another veteran and hear their experience, because you might not see them anywhere else,” said Michelle Finley, a veteran in attendance at the assembly. “It’s really neat when you can talk to somebody who’s maybe a few years older than you, or a few years younger than you, and hear their experiences.”
“It’s a more relaxed setting than the assembly in the morning,” added Jason Ricard, another veteran in attendance.
However, while the assembly was able to bring pride and joy to the GCHS community, that did not mean that the government shutdown did not affect anyone present. While the shutdown has lapsed as of November 13, some veterans, alongside many current members of the military, were still feeling its ripple effects.
“My reserve unit has not been able to accomplish things that we would normally accomplish [due to the shutdown],” said Government and Civics teacher Glen Roeck, who is a member of the Federal Army Reserve. “I’ve had some reserve duty that has been canceled or rescheduled for later in the fiscal year, so we’ll make it up later. It hasn’t affected my family financially, but it has affected some of the people that work at my reserve as civilians, because they have not been paid. But fortunately, once the government reopens, they will likely get back pay for the days they’ve missed,” said Roeck.
As the government shutdown has ended, most federal workers and members of the army have received back pay from the government.
