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RIDGECREST, La. — Ragde Torres, a senior at Concordia Parish Academy, has been named the district 2025 Student of the Year in 12th grade for Concordia Parish. 

In conjunction with the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), the Louisiana Department of Education recognizes outstanding fifth, eighth, and 12th-grade students who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, academic performance, achievements, citizenship, and service to the school and community through the Students of the Year program.

Eighth and fifth-grade students honored are Kathryn Porter at CPA and Aubrey Harrell at Monterey High School. Though none of these students were named regional honorees, Torres considers it an honor to be recognized as a top student by her school district.

To be considered as a regional Student of the Year, Torres had to write an autobiographical essay. She chose to write about her reflections from her time in school and how her experiences shape who she is today.

“As students, we tend to be really hard on ourselves. We believe that our achievements are small achievements … that they don’t amount to as much as we would like them to, but I think everything that we have done in the past kind of makes us into who we are now.”

Torres is the daughter of Edgar and Omeira Torres, to whom Torres said she owes a lot of her success in school and in life. However, Torres said she owes most of her success to God. 

“I don’t think I would be in this position as Student of the Year without him,” she said. “He brought me to this point and supported me through so much.”

Each of the district Students of the Year has earned a spot on a New York City trip in June along with 20 other students in Concordia Parish. Torres said she is most excited to see parts of the city for the first time that she hadn’t seen once before when she visited while she was in junior high with other Ferriday students and experience New York City again as a high schooler. 

Torres is hoping to get accepted to attend Louisiana State University to study music, she said.

“I want to give music education to other students here because you don’t notice a lot of that growing up in rural areas,” she said. 

Torres said she’d also like to perform music to some degree, whether it’s just at church, on a community stage or someplace bigger. 

Torres is a member of Sunnyside Church, where she is part of her church worship team and has been active in her school talent program at CPA. She studies dance at Concordia Parish Dance Studio, plays both piano and ukulele and enjoys singing.

She is a member of the 4-H club and is a 4-H Junior Leader, a subgroup of 4-H that helps plan club activities throughout the region. She is also vice president of the Beta Club and is on the Ferriday High School tennis team.