Address by Central Valedictorian

On May 14, 2025, Mia Ackoury walked across the stage as Valedictorian of the Central High School Class of 2025, the 113th graduating class in school history.

More than 8,000 people came to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the campus of LSU to witness graduation and to hear Mia’s Valedictory Address.

She spent more than one-third of her talk thanking those who gave her the opportunity to be successful, especially her parents, friends, and teachers and administrators at Central High School. She was generous in her praise of all who helped.

We reprint below condensed excerpts of the remainder of her talk, which we hope will live beyond the beautiful event at LSU and serve as an inspiration for others.

WHAT MATTERS IS THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU

by Mia Ackoury

Central High Valedictorian 2025

Like many of you I’m sure, I let grades define me for much of my life, and I am still learning to get away from that mentality because there is so much more to life. 

Life. Life is such a beautiful thing — full of adventure, love, and laughter. There is so much love in this room, so many people who came here to support all of you. 

Love. People love so beautifully. It’s a shame we don’t show our love more often. This needs to be a day of celebration. Think about all the people who have impacted you on your journey. Someone out there helped you and someone cares about you. You are not alone. No one has been alone in this journey even though sometimes we feel as if we have been. 

Special People. It is important to remember that there are people who care about you in the places you least expect such as your neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and teammates. 

There were times when school got hard for me. Balancing school, soccer, and a job was very difficult. I would wake up at 6 and not return home until 10 p.m. several days a week. 

This was very challenging for me both physically and mentally. But I had people everywhere who supported me and pushed me to keep fighting even when I wanted to give up. If I had given up every time it rained, I would have never been there to enjoy the sunshine. 

Take the Time. All this to say, it is important to take time to appreciate the little moments, such as a beautiful day, or a kind stranger. And even if it is a rainy day for you, you can be someone else’s sunshine.  

I know many of you would agree that as a class we went through a lot on our journey. One of the most representative quotes of our class in my opinion comes from the Disney movie Mulan. Her father tells her that “The flower that blooms in adversity, is the most rare and beautiful of all”. 

Adversity. We faced much adversity, such as the flood in 2016 where many people lost their homes and memories. Many had to start over and many things changed. As a school, we had to restructure. Things were different for so many people, yet we persevered due to amazing students, teachers, staff, and family. 

Once we finally recovered from that hardship, the Covid pandemic started and once again our community had to come together, six feet apart of course, to recover. If it wasn’t for such an amazing community, we could not have flourished but look where we are now!

We went through Google meets and a hybrid start, but still, we overcame the adversity. You should all be proud because we did something new and came out successful. 

Yes, “The flower that blooms in adversity, is the most rare and beautiful of all”. We are the flower that has bloomed time and time again, better and better after each challenge we faced. 

Tested by Fire. I have no doubt that this has prepared us to continue fighting through any personal challenges we may face in the future. 

Before You Go. I know many of you are excited to just get out of here and move on. But before you get into that mindset, take time to appreciate and think back to all the good times we had in school. 

One day we were taking naps and playing on the playground. The next moment we were worrying about being in the same classes with our friends. And now we are worried about the rest of our lives. It feels like yesterday that people were getting in trouble for trying to steal the toilets based on a Tik Tok trend! Yes, that really that happened, but now here we are. Matured and ready to conquer what is to come next. 

Times Does Fly. Life has proven just how quickly time can go by. Time is precious and never guaranteed, so we all must cherish it and never take it for granted. What you have right now is time, but only a short time, so don’t regret this night. Don’t be too cool to show people how much you care about them. 

Dr. Seuss once said, “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory”. These are the people who you made lifelong memories with, joking around in class, going to football games, walking with them in the hallway every day. 

So take this night and enjoy it now. That way when it becomes a memory, it will be one you look back on without regret. 

A New Beginning. There is good news for those who feel you did not do as well as you had hoped in high school. After today, you get to start over. Every student here earned a diploma. So you have the same start as the person next to you. 

All of you have done something challenging and amazing by getting here. Wherever you go next, you get to try again. Whatever you plan to do, do it to the best of your ability. 

Be Willing to Take Risks. If you are seeking success, true success, then you will fail. As Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” 

When you are failing, that means you are trying and taking risks. It is okay to fail. No one is perfect, and everyone fails many times before succeeding. But once you fail, learn from it in order to succeed. 

Everyone here has the capability to achieve greatness. But greatness doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. For some of you, it means chasing a career right now or going to college. For others, it is starting a family.  

A Challenge to Women. I want to address all the amazing women in this room. You can do such great things and be who you want to be — a doctor, lawyer, politician, or mother. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t because you are a woman. 

Why would you let someone else define your future? They aren’t going to be the ones living it. If you are sitting in the crowd right now worrying about how other people will perceive you or if your choices will be approved by society, let me tell you something. Some of the world’s greatest minds weren’t appreciated until after they left this world. 

Be the Change. So to everyone, don’t spend your whole life chasing other people’s approval and forget to enjoy YOUR life. Stop waiting for the world to change for you. Sometimes you need to be the change. 

The point is, whatever your greatness is, whether it is chasing a career, starting a family, or any other dream you may have, do it wholeheartedly and without regret. 

Only You Can Set Your Limits. There were many people who told me that I wasn’t smart enough to be on this stage today, and that may be true. However, regardless of what they said, I am standing here!

Other people may say things to make you doubt yourself and tear down your confidence, but don’t let that deter you from working to accomplish your goals. If I had allowed those people to get to me, I wouldn’t be up here talking about the next chapter in our lives. 

Scary But Beautiful. This new start in life will be scary for many of you.  It is for me as well. I’m scared of what is to come next because it is new and unknown. But that’s also what is beautiful — it is unknown. There are so many surprises and joys of life that we have yet to experience that are all waiting around the corner for us if we just embrace it. 

We must embrace change in order to enjoy life, because life IS change. We need to stop being afraid, because fear is the thief of dreams. If you are too worried about comes next, then you won’t be optimistic about the future. 

Be Great by Making the Right Choices. Everyone in here can do great things if you make the right choices. And everyone has the ability to make the right choices. 

The world is ours, and I am excited to see our success. It is our turn to fix parts of the world that we are unhappy about. Our turn to travel, explore, and create. 

Believe in Your Dreams. I call on all of you not to be afraid to try new things because everything was new at some point. As the Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. 

Believe in Yourself. As trite as it may sound, you must believe in yourself and your ability to impact the future.  

One more thought before I am done. Think about your future. Many will think about large houses and lots of money. But all that doesn’t really matter. 

Not Things But People. What does matter is the people around you who love you. Those are the people in your future who will share your accomplishments. Afterall, what are achievements without people to share them with? They are meaningless. 

So on your journey, take care of relationships with the people you love and who have been there for you.  Not material junk!

Graduation is just the beginning, not the end. So congratulations Class of 2025, and here is a spin on what Principal LaGroue said to us every day for the last four years: There has never been a better day to be a Wildcat!