Lewitzke Earns Perfect Score on ACT

"I had taken practice tests in January and February of this year to prepare for the actual exam," said Chris Lewitzke of Grayslake. "I had scored a 34 on both them and I was happy with the results. So when I found out that I had scored a 36 on the actual exam I was shocked."

Lewitzke will be a senior this fall at Grayslake North. He attributes his success on the exam to his teachers, especially his AP English Language and Composition instructor, Diana Schmitz.

"The toughest part of the exam for me was the speed to get through the reading section," said Lewitzke. "Ms. Schmitz spent a great deal of time in class to prepare all of us for the English and Reading sections of the ACT."

He gave her much of the credit for his success.

"Previously I had scored a 30 and a 31 on the practice exams, but I wound up with a 36 on the actual ACT and couldn’t have done that without the help of Ms. Schmitz," he said.

Lewitzke belongs to Math Club at Grayslake North which he said also helped him be prepared for the test. "We dealt with much more difficult problems than what I encountered on the ACT. People always seem to have trouble with the Geometry part of the test, but sophomores on the Math Team take a Geometry test. I spent a year reviewing for it and did well on that part."

His parents, Pam and Keith Lewitzke, are grateful to Chris' teachers for their help and very proud of their son.

"The teachers and staff at Grayslake North are outstanding," said Pam Lewitzke. "They have challenged all of my children to reach their potential. I can’t say enough about the teachers and staff."

She added, "We’re proud of Chris and we knew he’d do well. But a 36? That’s truly exceptional."

Chris Lewitzke admitted that he is not a big book reader, but he reads the newspaper daily and listens to podcasts, such as How Stuff Works. "I download short episodes from HowStuffWorks.com to my IPOD and listen to those," said Lewitzke. "They are short little pieces on how things work that you are familiar with but don’t really know. I also watch a lot of Discovery Channel and the History Channel shows."

He has three older siblings who have all attended Grayslake schools and done quite well for themselves. Kevin, 22, graduated from the University of Central Florida and now works at Sea World in Orlando. Maria, 21, just graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. and is in Kenya pursuing job opportunities. Jason, 18, who just graduated from Grayslake North and also scored a 36 on his ACT is going to Georgia Tech majoring in Biomedical Engineering.

Chris Lewitzke serves as a volunteer member of the Grayslake/Round Lake Teen Court, as have all of his siblings. "I am part of a jury that hears cases and assigns community service hours to the offenders as an alternative to the regular court system."

In addition to Teen Court, Chris is involved with the theater at Grayslake North. He has been a part of the Green Room since his sophomore year and is the incoming president of the theater club this fall. He’s also a member of Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, and the National Honor Society, or NHS.

Lewitzke also plays tennis and at the spring sports banquet this year was awarded the MVP of the team.

"Chris was voted MVP not because he was the best tennis player on the team," said his dad Keith Lewitzke, "but because of his work ethic and the example he set for the rest of the team."

His mom Pam agreed. "We’re obviously very proud of his academic achievements, but mostly we are proud of his being the fine young man that he is. He’s a good role model."

It's hard to argue with that.

Keith and Pam Lewitzke have tried to take their kids on summer vacation to places with some sort of geographical or historical interest. "We’ve gone to Florida and enjoyed the beaches, but also took a trip to Cape Canaveral and NASA. We’ve been to Boston and walked around the historical Revolutionary sites. We’ve gone to New York and enjoyed the city, but also visited Ellis Island," said Keith Lewitzke.

"Rarely is there a subject in US History when I can’t say that I’ve been there or been to some place connected to an event or person," said Lewitzke.

This summer, he is trying to decide on a college and choose a major. He has a box full of mail from a wide variety of schools and is still in the process of narrowing his choices. "I don’t think I want to go to a large school, nor a very small one. Something in between would be great," he said.

This fall, Lewitzke will be a senior at Grayslake North and is taking a full load of tough classes: AP Statistics, AP Calculus B/C, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Spanish, AP US Government and AP Environmental Science. Thanks to these and other AP classes, Lewitzke expects to have earned enough college credits in high school to start college as a sophomore.

"Time management is essential," Lewitzke advises. "It can be tough coming home after school and after school activities are done to complete all my assignments."

Lewitzke said great schools, great teachers and great parenting have all been essential to his success.

"My parents have given my brothers, my sister and I all of the opportunities and resources to succeed," said Lewitzke. "Yet they have never put any pressure on us to succeed. But they have gently pushed us to live up to our potential."