At 黑料网911 MSU student Cody Tucker recently placed in the top 40 in the nation for all students taking the Classic Learning Test, an alternative college entrance test similar to the ACT or SAT.聽
The humble 19-year-old immediately pooh-poohed the achievement when congratulated and gave several reasons why it鈥檚 鈥渘ot that monumental.鈥�
Finally, he conceded: 鈥淚t was pretty cool. I was super surprised when I heard. I was pretty shocked.鈥�
Someone who was not shocked was Tammie Hickey, director of the who worked with Tucker in the fall in the class to help him prepare for college classes and find his path.
鈥淐ody is amazing,鈥� Hickey said. 鈥淎MAZING. He came to us for direction and just to believe in himself.鈥�
Mission accomplished.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great program,鈥� Tucker said. 鈥淐onnections really helped with everything, settle what I wanted to do and helped me settle what my path was to get me there. It was wonderful.鈥�
Tucker plans to transfer to either the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, or Christendom College in Royal, Virginia, next fall, where he plans to study philosophy and then become a Catholic priest.
Tucker was a home-schooled student who graduated high school in Great Falls in 2020 and then worked as a paraprofessional at C.M. Russell High for the 2020-2021 school year.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what I wanted to do, so the gap year really was just a year to settle in and find what I wanted to do,鈥� he said.
He then enrolled in Connections 101, a nationally recognized partnership between At 黑料网911, Great Falls Public Schools and the Department of Labor and Industry that was one of five practices recognized nationally with the Advancing Innovation in Adult Education honor in 2021.
Connections helped Tucker identify his desired calling and instilled confidence that he was ready for college.
鈥淚n addition to building academic and work-ready skills, we help people believe in themselves,鈥� Hickey said. 鈥淏uilding confidence while opening their eyes to next step possibilities is so powerful.鈥�
After going through the 16-week Connections program last fall, Tucker started classes at At 黑料网911 in January, and he had direction as he realized he wanted to become a priest.
鈥淚t was just a pull in that direction,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t was not something I could explain. It kept coming up as something I could really dedicate my life to.鈥�
He already has been accepted into the University of Mary, but his first choice is Christendom College.
Trouble was, he needed a standardized test score to apply, and there were no dates to take the ACT or SAT in time to apply when he realized the path he wanted to take, but Tucker saw Christendom accepted the Classic Learning Test for an entrance exam.
According to the CLT鈥檚 website, 鈥淐LT exists to reconnect knowledge and virtue by providing meaningful assessments and connections to seekers of truth, goodness, and beauty. CLT offers the only standardized tests that complement a liberal arts education, are 100% online, and provide a comprehensive measure of achievement and aptitude.鈥�
Tucker decided to write his essay for the CLT on Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century philosopher and theologian, who Tucker described as, 鈥渙ne of the most influential minds of the day; one of the most influential Christian theologians ever. He had a massive impact. He took the newly translated works of Aristotle and started really working with them 鈥� and reconciling them with Europe, which was more familiar with the teachings of Plato.鈥�
聽He chose Aquinas because he was reading a biblical commentary on him at the time.
鈥淚 felt connected to and really enjoyed reading it,鈥� Tucker said. 鈥淎nd I thought I could write an essay about this guy.鈥�
As one of the top 40 people in the nation who took the test that day, his essay has been published by CLT Journal and can be found .
Tucker plans to join the Dominican Order as a priest.
鈥淭hey do a lot of teaching in universities for instance,鈥� he said. 鈥淭homas Aquinas, he was a Dominican, and he was a professor at the University of Paris for most of his life. And so that was another draw (for doing the essay on him). I was drawn toward Aquinas because of his way of thinking and pulled toward the order, so that was a really cool connection across the centuries. I will probably end up teaching at some point with the Dominicans.鈥�
While Hickey was not shocked Tucker did so well on his test because of his natural intelligence, she was surprised to learn of the achievement because she has been in contact with Tucker recently, and he never told her well he did on the exam.
鈥淐ody!鈥� she said, feigning exasperation at his humility. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to tell him what I think of (not telling her). No, I鈥檓 just so happy for him and excited for his future as he is destined for great things.鈥�