Owen Schwarten, junior, took the ACT for the first time this past March and received a perfect 36. Less than 0.5% of the roughly 1.4 million students who take the ACT earn a 36, making Scwarten one of only a handful of top scorers.

Schwarten was astonished when he found out about his score. He heard some other students saying scores were in, so he went to log in and check his. He had expected to get somewhere in the high 20s or low 30s but never could have imagined what he actually scored.

“I was shocked. When I saw the number 36 on my screen, I almost didn’t believe it,” said Schwarten.

Schwarten did some studying prior to taking the exam – he took a practice science test the night before and got practice studying for the English section in Mrs. Gilson’s English class.

Schwarten plans on double majoring in math and computer science, combining two of his favorite passions. For most of his life, he wanted to become a computer programmer, but recently changed his direction. He is now looking more toward cybersecurity and becoming a researcher for NVIDIA, a software corporation.

“I am looking towards cybersecurity or more ambitiously, becoming a research scientist at NVIDIA. It would employ my passion for both math and computer science, as well as a hefty salary,” said Schwarten.

Out of all the subjects Schwarten takes, IB History is his favorite. He enjoys how it dives deep into the curriculum and encourages students to be independent thinkers.

“IB History dives much deeper than any of my former history classes and really encourages you to think,” said Schwarten.