Another MPS student earns a perfect "36" on ACT

Zhenrui Liao

MILWAUKEE -- For the second year in a row, a student at Rufus King International High School earned a perfect ACT score. Zhenrui Liao is the latest Milwaukee Public Schools student to score a perfect store on the ACT college admission and placement exam. It's a huge accomplishment to everyone, except maybe, Liao.

"It's not really that special. It doesn't mean I'm a genius. It doesn't mean I'm some brilliant guy who's gonna cure cancer. It's just a test," Liao said.

A perfect ACT score is a rare feat that only 704 of 1.6 million students accomplished last year.

Last year, Rufus King International High School student Ahmee Marshall-Christensen scored a 36 on the ACT.

Ahmee Marshall-Christensen

"It was really exciting at the time. I guess I realized it's a bit inconsequential, but it was still fun to find out," Marshall-Christensen said.

Marshall-Christensen will begin undergraduate studies at Harvard University this fall. What are his plans for the future?

"Either a professor or a researcher at a university or doing research for a corporation," Marshall-Christensen said.

Liao says he hopes to head to either Duke University or University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"Engineering has a special call, appeal for me cause it allows me to use my talents to help people," Liao said.

According to MPS, both students are involved in the International Baccalaureate curriculum at Rufus King. The program is also offered at Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School.

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