High school valedictorian stripped of title after graduation speech

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) – A valedictorian at a Catholic high school in Kansas had his title revoked after he gave an unapproved speech at graduation.

Now, the community is rallying behind Austin Tran, with nearly 10,000 people g an online petition to reinstate his title.

Bishop Carroll Catholic High School asked Tran to return his valedictorian medal and recognition after he gave the unapproved speech at graduation Sunday.

While there was nothing offensive in the speech, the school said it was “too long,” lasting beyond the four-minute timeframe he was given.

Fellow graduates, alumni and parents who attended the graduation ceremony said Tran’s speech was wonderful. Many described the speech as well-received and emotional, stating that it brought many people to tears and noted that there was nothing controversial about it.

“It was a beautiful speech, and it brought back a lot of memories for me from in high school,” said Bishop Carroll alum Mary Vodopest. “It left me even more confused as to why [the school revoked his valedictorian title] because it just seems so extreme to me, especially after reading the speech.”

On a post on Facebook made by Tran’s mother, another parent commented, “His speech was by far one of the absolute best! It was raw, it was REAL and it legitimately made me laugh as well as brought a few tears to my eyes. Stand tall Austin! We are behind you!”

The school’s actions have prompted thousands to sign an online petition ing Tran, with some alumni even returning their valedictorian and salutatorian medals as a gesture of solidarity.

Bishop Carroll’s Class of 2003 salutatorian Zachary Faber was the first to return his medal, hanging it on the school’s sign in the front courtyard. He shared a statement with KWCH, which said in part:

“If the medal I received as the salutatorian of Bishop Carroll’s Class of 2003 was not an award recognizing the hard work and dedication it took to earn, but a shiny ornament that can be swiped away by arbitrary, bureaucratic judgment, then it has become worthless. To restore its value, the medal I returned to Bishop Carroll today represents my for a great young man and my disappointment in people I trust. Those in attendance at Bishop Carroll’s graduation ceremony can bear witness to the fact that Austin’s speech was a touching and appropriate burst of color in a sea of beige pleasantries.”

Lauren Dean, among Bishop Carroll’s academic leaders from the Class of 1983, is another one of the alumni who returned her valedictorian medal, stating that it didn’t stand for what she once believed.

“When I saw that that award can be taken away so easily and for something so arbitrary and capricious, my medal just didn’t have meaning to me anymore and so my reaction was, ‘Austin can have mine,’” she said.

Dean said her decision to return her medal was an easy one to make.

“I don’t regret returning the medal because if this is what it means, if it doesn’t mean what I thought it meant before, then I have no use for it anymore,” she said.

Dean described Tran’s speech as “beautiful” and, among many, shared the opinion that “there was nothing wrong with it.”

“There was nothing mean in there,” she said. “There was nothing offensive in there, nothing inappropriate. It was a genuine, heartfelt speech.”

Tran’s mother said he had submitted an approved speech ahead of graduation, but he decided to make some changes the night before.

“He wanted a personal and authentic speech that’s not AI generated nor compressed into a few minutes,” his mom wrote in her Facebook post. “He stayed up all night, as he confessed in the speech, to write one that went a little over time so that his sincere message to his classmates can be delivered in the manner and tone that he wanted, rather than what was dictated.”

She also said her son “poured his heart into it.”

She said the school’s decision to revoke his title is not only disheartening, but it could potentially jeopardize his scholarships.

The school has not provided any statements on the matter.

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita also said it respectfully declined to comment as “Bishop Carroll High School does not publicly discuss istrative or disciplinary issues involving its students.”

Tran’s speech can be read in full here.

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