Luke Chey is seventeen and a junior at Kellyville High School. With his quiet demeanor, there’s not much that makes him stand out, except for his long black hair. But don’t be fooled: Chey is anything but ordinary—this quiet, unassuming teen has become the first Kellyville student in recorded school history to score a perfect 36 on his ACT.
At the Kellyville High Cafetorium on Thursday morning, Principal Danny Wood, along with teachers Amanda Martin and David Keiffer, praised Chey for his hard work and dedication that led to the historic achievement. “He’s not going to be going after the colleges, the colleges are coming after him,” Wood said. The audience in the room thundered in applause.
Martin said that Chey’s achievement is even more important because of virtual learning. “When we were working at home, it was hard to learn, to stay on top of your studies, and this guy did it on his own with a lot of hard work and a lot of preparation,” she said. “And this is a junior, which is even more impressive.”
Martin admitted that having a student like Chey can be challenging, even for the teachers. “This guy’s smarter than I am, smarter than a lot of teachers, and it’s not intimidation, it makes me a better teacher because we have to work harder to help a guy like him,” she says. “So we’re not only proud of you, but we’re thankful that you’re making us look good, and that you’re making all of us teachers become better.”
Mr. Keiffer was the last to speak, handing Chey a banner with a large “36” on it, and telling Chey that he was joining a group of proud Kellyvillians who had scored high on their ACT in the past, many of whom have become lawyers, doctors, professors, and even a rocket scientist. He turned to Chey and told him, “You know what I’m going to be doing for the next four or five years? I’m going to be watching you. This is probably the biggest thing that’s happened to Kellyville that I can remember.” Keiffer also gave Chey a t-Shirt that said MIT, which is where Chey would like to attend school.
Chey said he scored a 36 on the fourth time he took the test. “I made a 31 when I took it the first time, and thought ‘well, maybe I’ll see if I can keep this going,’” he said. Chey confirms he’d like to attend MIT, but said that they haven’t officially offered him anything, yet. “They did send an email, which, you know, they acknowledged my existence, so I guess that’s good.”
Chey said he didn’t do a lot of studying for the ACT, despite taking the test four times. “I wouldn’t recommend (studying),” he said. “I think the best to do better is just taking the test a bunch because it gets to a point where you’re just trying to familiarize yourself with the questions.”
Chey’s mother, Brooke Jackson, said that it took awhile before they began to recognize Chey’s superior intellect. “He learned things at his own pace, and you can’t push him. He didn’t tie his shoes until he was ready,” she said.
Jackson says her son did exceptionally well in school, even if she didn’t realize it until later. “He was the first kid in his entire grade to finish all his sight words,” she said. “I was a single mom, and every night he was bringing me these sheets with new words on them, and I thought we were behind.” Turns out he was so far ahead, he finished before anyone else.
Jackson said she finally began to realize that Luke was special when he was in second or third grade. “He was seven or eight and he enters this spelling bee and all these other students who are much older than him are leaving the stage and feeling the pressure, and Luke was just sitting up there, as cool as could be.”
Jackson said it was Chey’s idea to attend Kellyville in the sixth grade after he had moved around for much of his early elementary. “I was a little worried because I knew that it was a small school and they wouldn’t have all the programs and those kinds of things, but he wanted to go here because it made him happy.”
Given the chance, that happiness has blossomed. Chey now sits with a 4.25 GPA and an anxious community watching to see where this kid will go.
