It was just an ordinary Friday in February of 2021 when Junior Cade Rasmussen got the news. All of his hard work and time put into scoring a 30 or higher had paid off when he saw his score.
Rasmussen took his very first ACT on Feb. 6, 2021 at Bergan High School, as a sophomore.
He explains that leading up to the national exam, he took some time throughout his weeks to do practice exams to prepare.
Along with that, 10-15 more hours were put into studying during quarantine, and then about eight hours for two weeks before the test.
“If you’re not confident on a test you’ll just do worse,” Rasmussen said. “So, I went in thinking that ‘hey, it’s the first one; I’m going to get what I get’, and I’ll do however well I’m going to do, and then it turned out a lot better than I was expecting it to be.”
The moment Rasmussen opened the my.act.org website, on Feb. 19, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “I looked at it and was just at a loss for words. I just stared at the screen for a minute,” Rasmussen said. “I refreshed my page a couple of times to make sure that it was the right score.”
A perfect ACT score is a 36, and Rasmussen scored a 35 on the first exam.
“I knew I could,” Rasmussen said. “Going in, my mindset was ‘I know I can get a great score eventually’. It wasn’t ‘oh, I’m going to get it this time’. I wouldn’t say I was crazy surprised then, but I was surprised I did that well. I didn’t have many words other than ‘those test-taking skills paid off here’”.
Science teacher Jake Smrcina considers Rasmussen to be an “exceptional and extraordinary” student.
“Cade leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the highest levels of comprehension and learning in the classroom,” Smrcina said. “He seeks out challenges that will make him grow to be his absolute best and is one of the most detail-oriented students I have ever had in my time as a teacher at Fremont High.”
Rasmussen took his second ACT on April 3, 2021 and scored perfect, which only 0.334% of students across the nation achieve and only a handful of students in FHS history have attained.
Rasmussen participates in band, choir, chorale, jazz band, football, track, student council and works on his family’s farm while still maintaining an average 4.3 GPA.
“One of the several characteristics I admire about Cade is not only his dedication to his personal success, but also the influence he has on his peers and the entire classroom,” Smrcina said. “He asks questions, finds solutions and explains scientific phenomena in a way that allows his peers to have a better learning experience because of his presence.”
Currently Rasmussen’s top three college choices are University of Nebraska Lincoln, Duke University and Baylor University.
He plans to major as a pre-med student and find a career in biotechnology. He explains how he intends to make a positive, yet tangible impact on people.
“I’ve had a lot of good teachers,” Rasmussen said. “I’ve had really supportive parents, family and friends that have all contributed to my success. This was not something I just did on my own out of my own gusto, but it was the help of a lot of people.”