46 AUGUST 2017 ARCAD A NEWS By Megan Forrester 36. The highest possible score a student can achieve on the ACT. On average, less than one-tenth of one percent (1,500 out of 1.92 million) of students who take the test earn that score. While those odds seem impossible to overcome, Arcadia resident and 2017 Brophy College Prep graduate Luke Stegmayer recently accomplished that exact feat. While Stegmayer was thrilled to earn the highest possible score, which will certainly benefit his college application process, he views the accomplishment as more of a reflection of test-taking prowess rather than a reflection of superior overall intelligence. “The ACT is a standardized test and I’m not sure if it’s really an accurate reflection of how smart or how dedicated someone is,” Stegmayer said. “The ACT score is more of just a representation of how good you are at taking the ACT, so in my case, I think I’m just good at taking the ACT.” Stegmayer did not do anything special to prepare for the test, but says his education at Brophy led him in the right direction. “Over the years I have had a lot of great teachers who have inspired me and gotten me to push more and more,” he said. Deborah Kauffman, who taught Stegmayer AP English during his senior year, said although he was not the most verbose in the class, she was not surprised by his incredible ACT score. “Something like that really doesn’t surprise me and that’s because Luke doesn’t shout his brilliance, but it’s always right under the surface,” Kauffman said. In his free time, Stegmayer does things any teenager would do such as playing video games and spending quality time with his friends. But he also does fairly unique things, including watching old movies like ‘Bicycle Thieves,’ a film about Italian life after World War II and loves working with computers. “I have always messed around with computers and played a good amount of c o m p u t e r g a m e s ,” Stegmayer said. “I wanted to see what made them tick, so I started doing research into how they worked.” His future plans include attending Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, continuing to develop his passion for computer science and software engineering at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. “I think learning software engineering or computer science in general is a really helpful asset today as everything becomes more and more dependent on computers, so there are a lot of options available for me in the future,” Stegmayer said. To help students prepare for the ACT, Stegmayer advises studying the types of questions on the test, but don’t get overwhelmed with the stress of taking it. “It’s not life or death, it is just a standardized test. Try to do the best that you can and that’s it,” he said. $            $ By Rachael Bouley William Barber is crazy about fencing. Not only does he participate in the sport, but the 13-year-old eighth grade Arcadia resident also volunteers his time as a coach for younger kids. Recently, he even brought home a bronze medal from a national competition. The medal he won was in his first-ever USA Fencing National Championship. With 118 talented fencers competing at Nationals in Salt Lake City, William and his family were ecstatic when he medaled in his age division for the epee weapon. “We were crying tears of joy, we were pinching ourselves,” said William’s mom, Suzie Barber. “We were so excited he made it so far.” With a short two years of experience under his belt, the Barbers were overjoyed when William qualified for Nationals. While they were thrilled for this exciting opportunity, they weren’t anticipating any medals. “I was expecting to get knocked out pretty easily,” William said. “It’s tough to keep advancing.” William first tried fencing at Friendly Pines summer camp in 2015. He loved it and excitedly asked his parents if he could enroll in classes. “We found a Groupon for a fencing club, gave it a try, and never looked back,” Suzie said. “A few years later, he’s standing on the podium at a national fencing competition.” William credits his coaches and team at the Phoenix Falcons Fencing Club with fostering his admiration for the sport and helping him improve. “They are a very good group of people, the coaches are great,” William said. “I feel very lucky.” William wants to share his love for the sport with others. He offered to coach younger kids on Saturdays, when he goes in at 8:30 a.m. to help out. “I really enjoy coaching. If I can help pass down the sport, I want to help show them the sport I love.” Suzie says her son is very dedicated to the sport, practicing multiple times a week. “He goes to the gym as much as he can. While he uses an epee weapon, he will go on nights they offer other weapons, just to practice,” Suzie said. “This is the first time he’s shown this much passion and enthusiasm for a sport.” William plans to continue pursuing his fencing dreams, participating in special camps and looking forward to the future. “I’m really happy I found this sport, one I really love. I want to get better. I love this sport and hope to take it all the way.” $          Luke Stegmayer After taking up the sport two years ago, Cicero Preparatory Academy eighth grader William Barber won a bronze medal at the USA Fencing National Championship. William Barber (orange and white shoes) placed better than nearly every one of the 118 competitors using the epee weapon at a recent national fencing competition in Salt Lake City. We were crying tears of joy, we were pinching ourselves. We were so excited he made it so far.” Christ Lutheran School Preschool - Grade 8  www.clsphx.org LC-MS Worship Sunday 8:00am & 10:45am – Traditional* | Sunday 8:30am & 10:30am – Contemporary* Sunday School/Bible Classes – 9:40am* | Sunday 12:30pm – Spanish Sunday 6pm – Youth Led Worship! Wednesday 7:00pm – Traditional | Saturday 5:00pm – Contemporary *Nursery Care is available at all Sunday AM services 3901 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix | www.cclphoenix.org | (602) 955-4830 LOVE GROW SERVE

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