It wasn't that long ago that Lake High School was a pile of rubble. The south side of the building was the only part left standing. On the inside, windows were broken, ceilings were falling down and other parts were nothing but twisted metal and splintered wood.
Fast forward to today and the same site is almost unrecognizable. On Sunday, the brand new, $25.5 million dollar Lake High School opened to the public.
"Compared to what it was and what it is now, just two totally different things," Michael Moon, a graduate, said.
Moon was one of hundreds of people who came to see the finished product for the first time. In 2010, he was a senior, set to graduate the day after the E-F 4 tornado devastated the community.
"To see the pictures and seeing my neighborhood, I didn't know what to say," Moon said. "I had some tears and emotions, but all I thought about was how can I help?"
Moon says he's been able to watch the high school's progress while coaching the 7th grad basketball team. He was blown away after seeing what's inside.
"The gym is phenomenal, the weight room is phenomenal, I'm really glad for the kids that will be going here the next few years," he said.
Students will also be studying in state of the art classrooms. And with 60 thousand square feet more than the old building, they'll have plenty of space to spread out.
"For us to be able to have this is just great, it really is."
For many, this was on of the final steps to rebuilding. Still, the memories of destruction and lives lost will never be forgotten.
"Two years ago, this was nothing but rubble. This is something completely different than it ever was," Moon said.
Insurance money helped make rebuilding possible, but school leaders say to maintain the quality of education, they need the levy to pass. But that's in the hands of the voters. They go to the polls on Tuesday.
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