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Last Monday, Sinahi Oaxaca got an email from the College Board, the organization that offers Advanced Placement exams across the country and beyond, with a subject line reading 鈥淐ongratulations on Your Perfect Score!鈥�

At first, she didn鈥檛 think much of it 鈥� many of her peers at sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High School have scored all five points possible on their Spanish Language and Culture exams, and the College Board sends a lot of emails, so she glossed it.

But when she got to school, she was met by her teacher, bilingual coordinator and principal congratulating and cheering her on.

鈥� 鈥楴o 鈥� you got a perfect score,鈥� 鈥� the senior recalled them telling her. 鈥淚 was really surprised.鈥�

According to the email, Sinahi, 17, is one of fewer than 250 students across the world to get a perfect score on the exam, a grueling exercise in writing, speaking and multiple choice questions she completed in early May.

While the exams are scored on a scale from 1 to 5, there are many more points possible across almost 70 total questions, which are then put through a weighting system that spits out their final scores.

Sinahi didn鈥檛 miss a single point. And according to the email she got from the College Board, only about 0.14% of 2023 exam-takers scored as highly.

鈥淪he was like, 鈥極h, OK, I just did my best. I didn鈥檛 think it was going to be that big of a deal,鈥� 鈥� sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High bilingual coordinator Fabiola Espinoza recalled Sinahi saying. 鈥淚t is a big deal.鈥�

Spanish is embedded in almost every aspect of Sinahi鈥檚 everyday life. She code-switches during mundane conversations at school; at home, she speaks it with her parents, who aren鈥檛 fluent in English; and she鈥檚 been enrolled in bilingual APS programs most of her life.

鈥淚鈥檝e never seen myself not speaking Spanish,鈥� she said.

Spanish was her first language. But knowing it fluently, she said, doesn鈥檛 guarantee a perfect score on the exam 鈥� she still had to work for that, practicing all year with her AP Spanish language and culture teacher Sergio Soto.

Once, he invited his students to come in on a Saturday to spend several hours drilling for the exam, which Sinahi described as the turning point in her test prep.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great, great pride as her teacher,鈥� Soto said, originally in Spanish. 鈥淪inahi is 鈥� very outstanding, very hardworking, very responsible, so honestly her score didn鈥檛 surprise me, because I know her capabilities.鈥�

With a GPA well over 4.0, Sinahi is no slouch. She鈥檚 been in gifted classes for most of her academic career, and has taken at least six AP and honors courses throughout high school.

She鈥檚 also got more than a head start on a career after high school.

Sinahi鈥檚 dream is to become a nurse practitioner, an occupation she鈥檚 already getting hands-on experience in at sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools鈥� Career Enrichment Center and that she鈥檚 slated to take licensure exams for next summer.

She first thought of going into medicine in middle school. But as someone who鈥檚 had to translate for her parents what they鈥檙e being told at the doctor鈥檚 office, Sinahi feels she could bring a special, bilingual skill set to the care she鈥檒l be able to provide.

鈥淗aving another language and being able to connect to people with a deeper understanding 鈥� would be helpful,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou get to know them better.鈥�