Six with a 36: Six Blue Jays Attain Highest Score on ACT®
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As of the April 2021 administration of the ACT® test, six current Blue Jays have earned the highest possible score of 36 on the ACT®. This distinguished group ranges in age from sophomores to seniors and in interests from swimming to track to robotics.
The Newest Members of the 36 Club
Two of these students earned their perfect ACT score on the most recent test: sophomore Patrick Dowd and junior Richard Tonry. The pair joins junior Nicholas Nobile (who earned his 36 as a sophomore) and seniors Andrew McNeil Marcello Torres, and Garrison Trahant.
Patrick Dowd
Sophomore Patrick Dowd earned a score of 36 on the most recent admission of the ACT® standardized test. The grandson and great-grandson of Blue Jays—James Donelon ’62 and James Donelon ’30 respectively—he attended Alexandria Country Day School in Alexandria, LA, before starting his time at Jesuit. He is the son of Gregory Dowd and Shawn Donelon.
At Jesuit, Dowd is the president of Model UN, the sports editor for The Blue Jay Newspaper, a runner on the cross country and track teams, and a member of Sodality.
Richard Tonry
Junior Richard Tonry III earned a composite 36 on the April 2021 the ACT® standardized test. An alumnus of St. Margaret Mary in Slidell, Tonry is a third-generation Blue Jay whose grandfather Richard Tonry graduated from—and later taught at—Jesuit in 1963. He is the son of Richard Tonry ’90 and Catherine Tonry.
Tonry is involved in a number of co-curriculars at Jesuit. Beyond recently becoming a big brother for an incoming Blue Jay, he is the sacristan for Sodality, the vice president of National Honor Society, a member of the quiz bowl team, a member of the Asian club, and a member of the pro-life club.
Previously Featured Blue Jays
The following four current students have been previously individually featured for their composite score of 36.
Nicholas Nobile
Nicholas Nobile, a member of the class of 2022, earned the highest possible composite score of 36 on the ACT® test he took in June 2020. Nobile, who attended St. Charles Borromeo and Christian Brothers before moving on to Jesuit, is the son of Michael and Nicol Nobile.
Nobile is a member of the swim team, Mu Alpha Theta, and Sodality, and he participates in District Rally. Also, Nobile is a lifeguard during the summers at Ormond Country Club in Destrehan.
Andrew McNeil
Andrew McNeil, a member of the class of 2021, earned the highest possible composite score of 36 on the ACT® test he took this past spring. McNeil, who attended Christian Brothers School before moving on to Jesuit, is the son of Adam and Colette McNeil. He is the third member of the Class of 2021 to report a score of 36 on the ACT.
At Jesuit, McNeil is a member of the swimming team and has competed successfully in multiple events for Jesuit including the 50-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard IM, and 400-yard freestyle relay.
Marcello Torres
Marcelo Torres, a member of the Class of 2021, earned the highest possible composite score of 36 on the ACT® test he took in November 2019. Torres, who attended St. Martin’s Episcopal before moving to Jesuit, is the son of Manuel and Kem Torres. He is the sixth current Jesuit student and first member of the Class of 2021 to report a score of 36 on the ACT.
At Jesuit, Torres is a member of the robotics team, National Honor Society, Model UN club, fencing club, and Mu Alpha Theta team. He also assists underclassmen in the academic support program by tutoring and teaching them study skills. For Model UN, he was named outstanding delegate at the YMCA state conference. His robotics team’s 1st-place finish at state last year allowed them to compete in the world competition in Houston. Also last year, Torres’s theta ciphering team won 1st place in the math bowl at the Mu Alpha Theta state convention.
Garrison Trahant
Garrison Trahant, a member of the class of 2021, earned the highest possible composite score of 36 on the ACT® test he took in June 2020. Trahant, who attended St. Angela Merici and Stuart Hall before moving on to Jesuit, is the son of Richard and Amy Trahant. He is the second member of the Class of 2021 to report a score of 36 on the ACT.
At Jesuit, Trahant is a member of the quiz bowl team and the 2019 state championship winning robotics team.
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 test scores.
Among U.S. high school graduates in 2019, just 4,879 out of nearly 1.8 million who took the ACT® earned a perfect score.
