Madeline Scott set out to prove to herself that she could do hard things. She set a goal: become valedictorian.
After hours studying for AP and dual-enrollment courses and a year stressed about grades, Scott walked the graduation stage as Destrehan High School’s 2025 valedictorian.
“After this, I definitely have gotten some confidence in myself and my ability,” Scott said.
In her speech to fellow DHS graduates, Scott shared her personal experience of moving from Raceland to Paradis and then, finally, to Destrehan.
“So, I never really settled in one community for a while and was constantly facing the fear of a new environment,” she said. “[In my speech] I gave advice to not let fear overtake you as you go to college in new towns, new states or even new countries.”
At DHS, Scott was a member of the National Honor Society, the National English Honor Society, Beta Club and student council. She was on the principal’s list all four years, won Destrehan’s Newton Science Award and graduated as an AP Scholar with distinction.
Her family inspired her, she said. Many of her family members are teachers who have achieved high levels of education, including her mom, who teaches at DHS. She said her mom kept her motivated.
“Even when I was complaining, like, ‘oh, I don’t want to study anymore. I’m tired.’ She would always push me to keep going,” Scott said.
Scott said DHS taught her how to adjust to new environments and get to know different people. DHS was the best school for her, she said.
“I found a lot of friends in my freshman year classes that stuck with me until the very end,” she said. “And l did cheer, and I probably wouldn’t have done that if I had gone to a different school, so it gave me a lot more opportunities than I probably would have had.”
Scott was on the cheer team and the competition cheer team. At the NCA Cheer Nationals, the team has won both third place and fifth place.
“I really learned to love the sport, along with all my friends on my team beside me,” she said. “I never would have expected me to like it so much, honestly. But I did dancing for 13 years. I did tumbling for 13 years, and I did gymnastics. Cheer combines all of them.”
Her first time taking the mat for a cheer competition was nerve-racking, she said. She was a freshman.
“[The nerves] got better over the years,” she said. “But you still get that adrenaline rush, like, right before you go on stage. Your heart pounding.”
Scott will attend Tulane University in the fall. She plans to study biochemistry and is considering attending medical school after college.
The first time she visited Tulane’s campus it felt like the right choice for her college career.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said. “And it’s definitely one of the more academically focused schools I think we have here.”
