Cape Central senior posts top marks

As she gets ready to embark on her final semester of high school next month, one of the few things that Amy Dai doesn't know is where she's headed to school.

Fortunately because of her grades and unprecedentedly high test scores, Dai has plenty of options available to her.

The Cape Girardeau Central High School senior, who's taken a multitude of advanced placement courses in high school, recorded perfect scores on both the ACT and SAT.

She scored a 36 on the ACT and 2,400 on the SAT this past year. Impressive is an understatement.

"It kind of blew me away," Dai said with a laugh about receiving her SAT results. "I couldn't believe that was what the paper was saying. I had to read it over a few times just to convince myself that my eyes weren't going haywire. It was definitely a pleasant surprise."

According to a report by Jeff Breer, less than 1 in 1,000 students earn a score of 36 on the ACT, a test that measures college candidates in English, mathematics, reading and science. Only five of 2,024 Missouri students in the class of 2016 scored 2,400 prior to the scoring scale being changed in March.

But Dai isn't just book smart. She's been on Central's tennis team since she was a sophomore; she began dance at age 5; self-published a fictional book as a freshman; been a member of Central's speech and debate teams; and her senior schedule includes a two-hour afternoon slot in the school's art studio.

"I pretty much like all of my core subjects, but one of the classes I really enjoy is art class, especially this year," Dai said. "I'm very fortunate the school allowed me to have a two-hour block of studio time to work on my paintings and drawing and sketching and just planning out more ideas. That's really fun."

Some photos of Dai's artwork, and more information on the scholarly student, can be found at www.semissourian.com/story/2369097.html.

Congratulations to Dai on her successes and best of luck on her sure-to-be-bright future.