It will be 25 years ago next June when Christopher Weber graduated from Lapeer East High School.

Since then, Weber has put in 20 years of service with the U.S. Army, started a family and owns a brewery in North Carolina.

Weber said it was during his time at Lapeer Community Schools that taught him how to balance life and find happiness.

"Community, teamwork, and commitment were three values that were engrained in me through sports, academics, and community service at Lapeer East High School," Weber said. "Mr. Dobos probably had the largest impact on preparing me for the real world and how to be an adult, saying, 'To be early is to be on time, and to be on time is to be late.' While I know he wasn’t the original author of that phrase, he was the first person to ever teach it to us and in doing so, formatted my mentality of what it takes to be in the right place at the right time and to be prepared for whatever activity you’re about to participate in."

Graduating from East in 2002, Weber also attended EE Irwin and Zemmer.

"Our town was a community, something I haven’t witnessed much since I’ve left," said Weber. "I remember Lapeer Days, Swing Out and East-West rivalries. Teachers that influenced me were Coach 'KP' Kirkpatrick, Mr. Dobos, Mr. McEachern and Mr. White."

In high school, Weber was involved in cross country, swimming, track, soccer, yearbook and marching band.

After graduation, Weber went to college before enlisting in the Army in 2003 as an infantry soldier, deploying to Iraq with the 82nd ABN Div in 2004-05. He became a medic in 2006, then deployed to Afghanistan 2007-08. He graduated from an Army ROTC program in 2012 and was commissioned as an explosive ordnance disposal officer. Weber retired as a major on May 1, 2025 with 20 years of active service.

He's been married to his wife for 13 years and the couple has four children.

When asked for advice for current LCS students, Weber said it's all about being present.

"Show up - that’s the first step," said Weber. "Show up to opportunities, don't expect them to show up to you. Show up for your friends, on the good days and on the bad days. Show up for your community, be the mechanism of change. If it’s broken - fix it. If it’s a mess - fix it. If there is an imbalance - fix it. Just show up for what’s right.

"Also, don’t give up. That’s the second step. Because when you do show up, you might not be able to fix it right away, you might need help, you might need to start it over, you might need to fail a few times before you get it right, but you’ll never accomplish anything in life if you just give up."

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