Viral graduation speech defines success with faith: ‘You are made in God’s image’

South Carolina Valedictorian Encourages Classmates to Rethink Success

A South Carolina high school graduate’s speech has gone viral for encouraging her classmates to reframe how they define success.

Lydia Owens, valedictorian and senior class president at Woodmont High School, delivered a powerful message during her graduation ceremony. She urged her fellow graduates to stop measuring their worth by their future accomplishments.

“Even if you accomplish all of your dreams or none of them at all, you are still valuable, and you are still good enough because you are made in the image of God,” Owens said.

Owens shared that her mother’s passing two years ago made her realize that her academic success and other accomplishments were not what gave her value.

“When everything else in my life felt uncertain, the only person I could depend on to stay the same was Jesus,” she told her classmates.

Owens’s mother was a strong role model of faith in her life, and she credits her for her own strong faith.

“She’s the reason I have such a strong faith,” Owens said. “She wanted me to be my best, and she wanted me to keep going.”

In her final words to her class, Owens encouraged them, saying: “You don’t have to worry about whether or not you’ll be successful because God promises that his grace is sufficient for us and that his power is made perfect in our weaknesses.”

The response to Owens’s speech has been overwhelmingly positive, with video of her speech being widely shared on social media.

“I was in attendance & was blown away at her boldness in truth,” one person tweeted. “I was admittedly surprised, but also thrilled she was permitted to have all of it in her speech. When she started talking about however you define success will leave you empty, I thought — go girl.”

“Bold leaders like her is what gives me hope for this world!” another tweeted. “Well done!”

Owens plans to attend Anderson University in the fall and major in elementary education.