[Stardust]

ALEXANDRIA — Campbell County High School’s Andrew Perrin is celebrating a perfect score on the ACT exam.

The 16-year-old junior earned a composite score of 36 on the college entrance exam, which he took in March, and just learned the good news.

“I was definitely excited,” Andrew, of Alexandria, said of his perfect score. His mom, Dianne Perrin, surprised him with the news at a baseball game, he said.

Andrew, a starting member of Campbell County High School’s academic team, plays on the school’s baseball and golf teams. He’s also a self-taught bass guitar player, and his band, “Sorry I Shrunk Your Sweater Vest,” won the school’s Battle of the Bands contest last spring.

“He’s a very well-rounded student,” Donn Manker, Campbell’s academic team coach, said of Andrew. “He excels on the academic team, but he’s also successful on school’s golf and baseball teams.

“He’s a free thinker…and a great student.”

Andrew helped lead Campbell County High School’s academic team to an overall fourth-place finish at the recent Governor’s Cup State Finals – and he’s the team’s “social studies expert,” according to Manker.

While he excels in every subject, U.S. history has always been his favorite, Andrew said. He hopes to one day share that passion as a high school social studies teacher.

“I like the subject matter and high school atmosphere…and think I could make a difference,” Andrew said of teaching.

Andrew said his rigorous AP courses and years on the academic team (he started as a fifth-grader) helped him prepare for the ACT.

To put his perfect score in perspective, a 36 is earned by less than one-tenth of one percent of the more than 1.6 million students across the nation who take the exam annually.

The average composite score nationally was 21.1 in 2011, according to http://www.act.org.

This was Andrew’s second time taking the exam – he earned a 35 on his first attempt in December.

Two of Andrew’s junior classmates – and fellow academic team members – are also celebrating their scores on the exam. Jared Wittrock and Jenna Garofolo each scored a 35 on the ACT in March.

“We’re proud of each one of these kids,” Andrew’s mother, Dianne, said of the group. “They all work very hard, but they also have a significant amount of natural ability.

“They’re all part of the school’s gifted and talented program…and have great futures ahead of them.”