RARE PERFECTION

Matthew Harfmann is a busy student. The Kasson-Mantorville senior has his hands in many areas including FCCLA, HOSA, student council and being a state-caliber wrestler as well as a class officer, but has still found a way to maintain excellence in the classroom maintaining a 4.0 GPA. 
According to Harfmann, his secret to success is maintaining an aggressive attitude that allows him to stay on top of things as well as getting a lot done.
“Over the years I got really good at managing my time,” Harfmann explained. “I just want to get things done because you don’t want to wait until the end to do them.”
As he approached his senior season, Harfmann continued that approach by preparing for the ACT. The ACT is a test that could humble even the smartest of seniors, but Harfmann felt confident going in and thanks to his preparation, felt really good about his score. The result? A perfect score of 36.
“When I was taking the test, I thought it could have been a 36,” Harfmann recalled. “I stayed up because the scores came out at midnight, and I was thinking it could happen.”
Such a feat is something that is not just rare at Kasson-Mantorville, but nationwide. Out of just over 2 million students who took the ACT last year, only 2,760 recorded a perfect score. That number equates out to just 0.136 percent and triggered a late night celebration inside the Harfmann household.
“I looked at the score and I ran downstairs to tell my parents,” Harfmann chuckled. “I was up until two in the morning because I couldn’t sleep.”
Harfmann said the test was pretty easy, but also felt like it was the same difficulty as some of the practice tests he had taken over the summer. With the rare score, Harfmann became only the second K-M student to accomplish the feat, which hasn’t been lost on him.
“It’s really cool because there’s been only one other student to do it since K-M came into existence,” Harfmann said. “It’s actually really cool.”
With an outstanding ACT score in his back pocket, Harfmann has a world of opportunities to choose from, but hasn’t decided where he wants to school. He also said he wants to attend medical school after college but he’s not sure where he’ll go from there. If one thing is for certain, a bright future will follow him wherever he decides to go.