“Anton Sackley”- a unique name that you may have never heard of. Well, let me introduce him to you. Anton Sackley is a sophomore at Franklin High School with some exceptional hair. He’s a big music guy, and also is part of the Varsity Mock Trial team. Oh yeah, he also took AP Calculus AB as a Freshman. Yes, you read that right, he took the 2nd hardest high school math course as a Freshman. 

Some of you might wonder, how is that even possible? Well, let me explain to you. Anton explained that from a young age his parents and himself knew that he was very good at math. However, while living in Sharon, the school system refused to put him in any higher math classes which led to the Sackleys moving to Franklin. Once they got here, the Annie Sullivan math department realized how good Anton was at math, and paired him with a math specialist to challenge him. This led to him taking Algebra I in 6th grade, Geometry in 7th Grade, and an online Algebra II course in 8th grade. This set him up to take Pre-Calculus as a Freshman which was already quite impressive. But he thought that wasn’t good enough, so he decided to test out of Pre-Calculus, leading him to take AP Calculus as Freshman.

When asked about how hard the class was he acknowledged the challenging aspect of it, “The class was quite challenging, which I loved. I had to work incredibly hard, and study a lot, but it was incredibly satisfying to get through the class.” It’s understandable how satisfying it can be to do well in an AP class, regardless of the year. To do it as a freshman simply adds another level of pride. He also acknowledged that his love for math helped him do well in the class “I would never have been able to go this far in math if I didn’t love it.”

What makes this even more amazing is that both of his parents don’t have a focus on math. They both were trained in the fields of Biology Anton explained; “My mother has a Ph.D. in cell biology, and my father was trained in marine biology.” He also took a moment to appreciate their passion for learning and how they passed that on to him. He recognizes that he wouldn’t have been able to make it to where he was without them.  

Along with math, he heavily invests himself in music. He loves “listening to music, playing music, writing music, and pretty much anything else related to music.” He is part of the high school’s wind ensemble and Jazz Bands as a percussionist. 

Overall, one lesson we can take away from Anton is how we should always push ourselves to be the best we can be. Whether that be with sports, music, or another subject, we should always try our best to become the best version of ourselves.