Chicago boy becomes first student to get perfect ACT score in his high school’s history

Mario Hoover, a West Side Chicago student, is being lauded after writing his name in his high school’s history books. Up until Hoover’s remarkable educational feat, no student in Providence-St. Mel School’s 42-year history had clocked a perfect ACT score. Hoover recently changed that.

According to FOX 32 Chicago, the high school junior reached the remarkable feat despite being involved in several activities and programs. And leading up to taking the test, Hoover said he signed up for an ACT prep course and also took practice exams. His preparations for the test yielded positive results as he earned a perfect score of 36.

“I want others to know that they can do the same. I’ve been saying a lot today that we are all capable of more than we think we can do,” Hoover said.

The principal of Hoover’s high school, Timothy Ervin, also spoke about the significance of his achievement. “He is the future of Black history, in the sense that he has made history here in the present and that’s going to live on forever,” Ervin said.

Hoover said he plans to further his college education at Columbia University in New York. He added that he wants to pursue a course in neuroscience and music.