Mercedes Kenitzer
March 7th 2019
“The class of 2019 knew about the award last year from Jerry Hudspeth,” Matthew Dacey-Koo said. “When I received my scores back I knew nobody could beat this.”
​
The title of STAR Student is awarded to the senior with the highest SAT score within the school each year. This year it is being awarded to senior Matthew Dacey-Koo for getting a perfect score not only on the SAT but on the ACT as well.
Dacey-Koo says, “As a disclaimer this is not a magical guide. You have to have some level of want in order to get a perfect score. Be careful with this process.” He started studying for the SAT/ACT online, reading subreddits of different posted problems. He also used Khan Academy saying, “If you haven’t taken all eight official tests on Khan Academy, you're missing out.” The ‘single most important book’ for Dacey-Koo was The SAT Prep Black Book. “Totally changed how I approached the test.” There were other books that he used like College Panda Math, Uworld, Science: For the Love of ACT Science, along with Reading and Grammar by Erica Meltzer. "Try to stay close to the real test,” says Dacey-Koo. He says he had a separate notebook for the answers that he got wrong and in it he would explain why the answers were wrong.
​
Dacey-Koo is applying to a Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences degree program at Northwestern University. Northwestern University is Dacey-Koo’s dream school and is where the program he is applying to is located. “The school is at a nice location and aligns a lot with what I want to do.” He says. He is also interested in computer sciences but says, “I need to explore more on this topic.”
When a student is awarded the STAR Student title they are able to choose a teacher they either have had or have currently to be represented as the STAR teacher of DHHS. The teacher nominated as STAR Teacher is Ms. Brown who teaches Accelerated Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Food Chemistry. Dacey-Koo has been in Ms. Brown’s class since Spring of his Junior year, three semesters straight. He describes her class as, “Very interactive and hands on.” Following with, “The work never feels like a chore.” Dacey-Koo says, “We have a fun time, Ms. Brown is very interactive with the students. She invests time with individual students.”
​
When meeting Dacey-Koo Ms. Brown says, “The first thing that stuck me about him was his height.” As one of Ms. Brown’s top students she says, “I never have to worry about him academically. He is a high achieving student.” She describes Dacey-Koo as, “Quiet, reflective, a good cook, and an great storyteller. He occasionally tells a story to the class and is very entertaining.” After the school day Dacey-Koo plays Ultimate Frisbee. “(Dacey-Koo) is one of the top players. It’s been nice to see him in the leadership role. He embodies the true spirit of Ultimate Frisbee.” Ms. Brown says.
​
Dacey-Koo’s final words are, “This process is odd and nowhere near perfect. Be careful, don’t burn yourself out. Make sure you are pursuing things you're interested in. Explore yourself. Everyone can do what I did.”