Ayo Edebiri returns to her high school to share her secrets of success

From a seventh-grader with a rolling backpack to an award-winning actress, Ayo Edebiri recalled her high school experience. Having attended Boston Latin School, born and raised in Dorchester, she revisited her old life in an interview with Mayor Michelle Wu in front of the student body. April 10, 2025 she walked down the halls of BLS for the first time since graduating, now a renowned actor. 

Starring on “The Bear” as a working chef struggling to open a restaurant, she related her high school experience to her success today. “There’s kind of a slickness you have to have about you to survive the school and I think that that has served me very well … every day actually. It serves me right now as I’m answering this question,” She says in the auditorium of Boston Latin, a school notorious for their rigorous academics and intense schedule. 

Edebiri gave her advice to the aspiring students of entertainment as she looks forward in her career. “I fell into acting a bit later. I wanted to be a writer, I mean I am a writer, but that’s really what I wanted to do.”

With Season 4 of “The Bear” released on June 25, 2025 she takes her acting and directing to another level as the show starts to revolve around her character, Sydney, an ambitious chef holding together the scrambling restaurant. Having directed an episode in the new season that focuses completely on Sydney, Edebiri is now in the spotlight. 

Nearing the end of her interview, Mayor Wu declared April 10 to be ‘Ayo Edebiri Day’ to a stunned interviewee. “I’m definitely proud to be a product of public schools and to be a product of public services that work.”