by Mike Knaak
news@thenewsleaders.com
When Sartell High School senior Alice Colatrella learned she earned the highest possible score on her ACT test, she thought the rating was wrong.
“I had no clue,” Colatrella said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it.”
Alice, 18, is the daughter of Nicholas Colatrella and Stacy Hinkemeyer-Colatrella.
Her composite score of 36 places her in the top 1 percent of students taking the college entrance exam. In 2020, only 5,579 out of 1.67 million students earned a 36, the top score.
Colatrella’s college plan may take her to Northwestern University, north of Chicago in Evanston, or Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
“I’m looking to get out of the state,” she said.
Colatrella would like to study math or chemical engineering with a minor in Spanish. She’s studied Spanish for seven years, and her family’s travels have taken her to Spain, Panama, Belize and Mexico.
During a mission trip with her family to Belize, she translated for the group.
Her activities are centered around music where she plays baritone saxophone in band, cello in orchestra and sings in choir. She’s a member of the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota and Central Minnesota Youth Orchestra. Colatrella is also involved with National Honor Society and student council.
During college she’d like to take another mission trip with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, a group her mother works with that provides vision and eye-health services.
With Covid-19 restrictions, Colatrella and the other seniors are finishing their high-school educations under unusual circumstances. High-school students alternate between in-person and distance-learning days.
“I’d rather be in school two days a week than none,” she said. “The school has done a good job making the best of what it can be.”
The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science, each scored on a scale of 1–36. A student’s composite score is the average of the four scores. The score for ACT’s optional writing test is reported separately and is not included with the composite score.
“Alice is a determined and motivated student who has achieved recognition in academics and music during her time at Sartell High School,” said Principal Sascha Hansen. ” I am very proud of her accomplishment.”
