Notre Dame Regional High School student scores perfect 36 on ACT

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – A high school junior received a perfect score on the ACT test.

Notre Dame Regional High School junior Matthew Austin scored a perfect 36 on the most recent ACT.

He is the son of Sam and Caroline Austin of Cape Girardeau, and a graduate of St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School.

Austin is a member of the SADD club, French club, Science club, Scholar Bowl and National Honor Society. He serves as the National French Honor Society president, FBLA district vice president of membership, and the regional president for Second Serve Nonprofit.

Austin is a two-time state qualifying tennis player for Notre Dame. He was the 2022 district singles champion, and 2023 SEMO Conference doubles champion. He was also a 2022 Semoball Award finalist for boys tennis.

Some of his academic awards include College Board Rural and Small Town National Recognition, first place in FBLA districts for the Healthcare Administration category, and French National Exam (Grand Concours) bronze medalist in 2022 and silver medalist in 2023. He also placed first in Algebra II and second in Mental Arithmetic at the 2023 Math Field Day competition.

Austin received student of the year honors in Advanced English I, Honors Geometry and French II.

He said he received encouragement from ACT tutor Chrisi Hodges, but primarily studied on his own and reviewed his school coursework to prep for the test.

“I believe perseverance and confidence are key to the test,” he added.

Austin plans to complete his college admissions early by applying for early decision. He says he really wants “to savor the moments that I will have with my friends during my last year of high school.”

After high school, Austin plans to go the pre-med track in college and attend medical school as a postgraduate.