When St. Ignatius water polo captain chose state tournament over graduation, school brought graduation to her

CBS News

23-05-2025

Veronica Rauch had a choice; attend her high school graduation at St. Ignatius College Prep, or play in the IHSA State Quarterfinals for girls' water polo. Both were happening just an hour apart.
As team captain, Rauch chose the latter. Rauch said there wasn't even a decision to be made when it came to attending graduation or playing water polo.
"I'm the goalie, and I'm on the team, and it's my responsibility and my desire to be at that game," she said. "It's a huge accomplishment for the team, and because of the accomplishment, I want to be there. Because of the name of the game, I want to be there."
St. Ignatius water polo head coach Nicole Lum said the game was a nailbiter.
"I've been coaching a long time, and I've never experienced anything quite like it," she said.
"We had a player who got out there who had not played water polo before this season. She's a junior, and she got in there, and she gave us a goal; and it was an incredible, incredible moment," Rauch said.
That was followed by an incredible moment. Dr. Sterling Brown, the prefect of studies – or principal – at St. Ignatius, brought the graduation to Rauch.
"I knew it was far, but I didn't realize what the timing would be," he said.
The graduation was at 6 p.m. The game was at 7 p.m. Brown made the drive from the graduation in Chicago to Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, where the state quarterfinals were taking place.
"My experience for her has been four years of giving to this place, and I'm glad that in a very small way, we could give something back," he said.
As for the game, the team didn't win.
"They gave a Herculean effort, every last one of them. It was fantastic," Lum said.
But Rauch said, in the end, one thing mattered most.
"The way we played was a win in itself," she said.
Now that she has graduated, Rauch is heading to University of Alabama, where she's going to study vocal performance. She wants to be an opera singer one day.
If her beautiful singing voice wasn't enough, Rauch also speaks several languages, among them Mandarin.