A Teen’s Take: Mario Alegre on studying
“I think the most important thing about studying is not memorizing rules or facts, but rather understanding WHY those rules are true. Once you understand how things work, you don’t have to remember as much; you can just figure it out as you go along.”
Age: 17
School: McKinley Senior High School, senior
Parents: Juana Moreno and Fernando Alegre
FAVORITES:
Books: “The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury and “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway.
TV shows: “Battlestar Galactica” and “Cowboy Bebop.”
Movies: “Brazil,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “District 9” and “Limitless.”
Music: From Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to Muse and the White Stripes to Pretty Lights and Daft Punk to Nujabes to War.
Hangout: A friend’s house or the mall.
Role model: “My teachers at McKinley — they’re the best.”
Extra: Mario Alegre earned the highest possible composite score of 36 on the ACT college admission and placement exam, announced the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, and he also received perfect scores of 800 on the Math II and Physics SAT subject tests, as well as a near-perfect score of 790 on the Literature subject test. He received a Magna Cum Laude award for his performance in the National Latin Exam. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Society of High School Scholars, the Beta Club and the Mu Alpha Theta math club.
William Taylor
Assistant People editor