RHS junior Jodi Dunbar aces ACT

Jodi Dunbar may seem like your normal teenager enjoying high school as she eyes her future. Make no mistake, she’s earned a place in rarified company.

The 16-year-old Ruston High School junior now ranks among the top 0.313% of all test takers thanks to her perfect score of 36 on the ACT.

“It was definitely exciting,” Dunbar said about receiving the news. “It was also a shock at first. In fact, I triple checked my scores before I believed I was reading everything correctly.”

According to her father J.P. Dunbar, academics have always been important to his daughter. Her record demonstrates as much. Her GPA is an unweighted 4.0, and she is currently taking one Advanced Placement class along with four Dual Enrollment and one honors class. Her only other class is the hour she works as a trainer in the training room.

As for preparing to achieve such a rare feat, young Dunbar is characteristically low key.

“I work as a tutor after school, and I have a few people who work with me on their ACT,” she said. “So, I got to do a lot of ACT practice with them as they prepared for the test.”

Dunbar also gives her school a great deal of the credit. She said Ruston High has “ a lot of amazing teachers” who set aside full weeks before the school ACT solely to practice, something she found extremely beneficial. She also points out the importance of role models at home.

“With two parents who were teachers, education was always emphasized as a huge priority for me,” Dunbar continued. “I was definitely encouraged to take school seriously and give my best on every assignment, not just put in the least amount of effort I could while still being successful. Being encouraged to have this mindset by my parents helped me to take advantage of all of the prep my teachers offered.”

Additionally, Dunbar said one of her older brothers, Trey, always encouraged her to read. Because time can be such a struggle with the test, being able to read quickly is so important. Therefore, reading becomes one of the best ways to prepare for the ACT. He also set the bar high for his sister.

“Trey also had a really high ACT score,” Jodi Dunbar said. “ I was trying to beat his 32. Sibling competition is always good motivation.”

There was also the encouragement from her counselor, Diana Humphries, whom Dunbar considers a major motivator.

While she never considered she could achieve a perfect score herself, Humphries never doubted.

“She repeatedly and adamantly told me that I could get a 36 if I studied and tried my hardest,” Jodi Dunbar added. “ Without her encouragement, I don’t think I would’ve had the mindset needed to get a 36, especially since I’d already reached the score I wanted on the ACT before trying again.”

Her father shares the respect his daughter has for Humphries and others on the RHS staff who were instrumental in seeing that she succeeds at such a high level.

“We are very proud of her and how she handles her schoolwork and personal life,” J.P. Dunbar said. “We are very thankful for our teachers and guidance office for challenging her to be her best.”

However, his daughter admits she struggles with managing her time to earn such outstanding grades and test scores.

Between working as a trainer, tutoring and keeping up with her own school work, Dunbar had to make the most of every minute of her day. That means working on homework when finishing early in classes and focusing on school work and chores before relaxing at home.

Yet she wouldn’t change a thing. Dunbar loves her family time, especially two nephews and a niece she calls “amazing.” While spending as much time as possible with them, she is also very involved with her church and invests a great deal of time there. And then there’s her love of reading. For her mother Felicia, such balance elicits a swell of pride.

“I am very proud of Jodi’s achievement on her ACT but even more proud that she puts as much effort in to growing her faith in God as she did in to increasing her ACT score,” Felicia Dunbar said.

As for the future, the ACT ace knows she wants to go to college, although she’s not sure where yet.

However, the plan now is to major in biology and eventually become a doctor. Before that, she has her eye on another mountaintop experience during her senior year.

“Honestly, I’m most looking forward to football season,” Dunbar said. “ I’m hoping we leave the dome with a championship this time.”