Aside from involvement in forensics, knitting, and partaking in many interesting crafts and art projects, senior Mary Farah is extraordinary in yet another way, as an honorable student. Achieving high standard test scores usually is a struggle for students who are worried about specific college admissions, unless you receive a perfect score on the ACT, as Farah has.

Although Farah was expecting she would do relatively well on the exam and even after completing it thought that she was “comfy with the test,” her initial reaction upon hearing the exceptional news was a shriek of excitement. In preparation for the ACT, Farah took the ACT practice tests and on the day of the test, she had a clear mindset from plenty of rest the previous night and a healthy breakfast in the morning.

Every subject across the wide spectrum is covered throughout the ACT exam.

“I believe that the most difficult portion of the ACT test would have been the writing. I can write really well when there isn’t a time restraint pressuring me to finish,” Farah said. She also said that the reading seemed to be the simplest section out of all.

Not finishing on time is a complaint that is addressed by many students upon taking the ACT. Pertaining to the writing segment, Farah said she had a pencil in her hand up to the last minute, finalizing the details to her essay. Also by the time she had finished calculating a plethora of math problems and had bubbled in countless answers, she was left with only a minute or two before the time limit would expire.

Farah seems to have a good understanding of what a responsible work ethic is.

“I spend a fair amount of time studying for subjects; however, the length of time spent differs with classes. I try to review material each night and read through everything I learned that day,” Farah said.

However, studying is not the only thing that has brought Farah to her perfect 36. Independent learning is something she actually enjoys doing while receiving all the benefits from it.

“I am a complete nerd. I love to read books aside from school texts in my spare time. I just love to learn, and I’ll usually know many things that we haven’t learned in class pertinent to the subject being taught. Also, I’m typically glued to the computer screen, especially to Wikipedia,” Farah said.

The subject that has always brought Farah the most difficulty is any form of mathematics. She says she could not have gotten through her several troubles in math without the help of one of her greatest teacher influences, Kristen Stephens. Stephens has had Farah in her class for honors pre-calc in the past and AP calc, BC currently.

“Mary is a thinker. She loves problem solving and any sort of puzzle. When I put something up on the board and we’ve just finished discussing it, I can see that Mary is still thinking about things,” Stevens said.

Farah has many plans for the future. Her primary choice for college is the University of Chicago, and others that she shares interest in are Northwestern University and possibly Harvard, Case, or OSU.

“I hope Mary’s happy, healthy, and reaches her dreams. She really is capable of going in whichever direction she desires. She will definitely do wonderful in whatever she does,” Stephens said.

All junior classes that are or have been in preparation for taking the ACT exam seem to have several worries on their shoulders. From the student with a perfect score and a flawless school record to prove it, Farah brings some peace and relief to the upcoming juniors.

“Don’t stress out about the ACT. If you go into the test anxious, that is very bad and you may end up doing poorly. Go into the test calm and if you don’t second guess yourself, you’ll be more likely to succeed,” Farah said.