Sedalia Sacred Heart senior gets perfect score on ACT

It actually brought me closer to my faith.”

Logan Howell, a senior at Sacred Heart School, Sedalia

Sacred Heart High School senior Logan Howell asked Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell to pray for him and his friends to ace an important exam.

The bishop agreed also to pray “that these kids come to embody everything about the Catholic faith.”

God’s response? After nine months of praying and trying, Logan scored a perfect 36 on the ACT, a standardized test for gauging college readiness, while his five best friends all scored 30 or higher, placing them above the 90th percentile.

“This quest, which seemed to be just about getting a good score, was actually a big-time journey of faith for us,” stated fellow Sacred Heart senior Max Van Leer.

“It actually brought me closer to my faith,” said Logan, “because we were praying novenas together before taking the ACT.”

Logan, Max and fellow seniors Thomas Jenkins, Austin Perez, James Russell and Anthony Sierra have been friends since their earliest days at Sacred Heart School in Sedalia, which is the Jefferson City diocese’s only Catholic school that offers preschool through high school.

“We’d get together and we’d play games and hang out, but I think as a group we all decided that this is something we really want to focus on together,” said Max, who has received a full scholarship to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

“So, we really started to focus on school more and not just videogames or girls or whatever else,” he said.

James feels like he’s been being set up for success since he arrived at Sacred Heart in fifth grade.

“Here, the community is so close, and everyone wants you to be the best you can be,” he said. “And that’s really pushed me to become who I am today, and I’m thankful for that.”

Off and running

Anthony got the momentum going last November, when he received a full academic scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis. He plans to double-major in political science and philosophy on a pre-law track.

“I wanted to be able to pay for college,” he said. “When I saw ‘WashU’ and did my research on it, I fell in love with it! And if I hadn’t gotten all this support and encouragement from my friends and all the adults here at school, I wouldn’t be able to go there.”

That major accomplishment helped motivate the whole group to see what they could earn for college.

“He’s brilliant, and he knocked it out of the park, and we’re all striving for the kind of success he has,” said Max.

Logan soon told Max he was aiming for a perfect 36 on the ACT.

“Brother, there’s no way that’s gonna’ happen,” Max told him.

“But as we got to those higher scores,” Logan recalled, “it seemed more and more possible. And then, the friendly competition kicked in.”

Their efforts to get better grades and score higher on the test “led to tons of scholarship money being earned,” Max noted.

Logan received a full academic scholarship to the University of Missouri, where he plans to major in chemistry on a pre-med track.

Thomas plans to pursue a master’s degree in architecture from Kansas State University in Manhattan.

Austin plans to go for a master’s degree in architecture from Drury University in Springfield.

James plans to study engineering at the University of Missouri.

Four of the friends studied together to pass the College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP) test in macroeconomics, which will count as college credit for them.

A generous Sacred Heart alum who lives out of state paid for them to take the test.

“We get wonderful support here,” said James.

Mercy and grace

At this point in his life, Logan sees his studies as doing God’s work.

“I like the idea that you should make everything a prayer,” he stated.

He has taken up going to Mass at 6:30 a.m. on the three weekdays it’s available in St. Patrick Chapel in Sedalia.

In order to do that with a clean conscience and in a state of grace, he goes to Confession every week.

“Because I’m sinful, and I need forgiveness, and you can’t receive the Eucharist in a state of sin,” said Logan.

Mass and Confession help keep things in perspective for him.

“At Mass, I know I’m right there with someone who’s infinitely better than me,” said Logan. “When you look at all of our gifts and achievements, what are they in comparison to God?”

Last November, Austin, Logan and Thomas travelled to Indianapolis to attend the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC), with about 16,000 young Catholics from all over the United States.

Austin was attending a keynote in the city’s giant indoor stadium when Logan convinced him to go to Confession.

“And from that point onward, my faith has just grown stronger,” said Austin. “And ever since then, Logan has helped me a lot, whether it was with the ACT or to rekindle my faith.”

NCYC is where Logan met Bishop O’Donnell, asked him to attend the first evening of Las Posadas in Sedalia and asked him to pray for him to do well on the ACT.

Power of nine

All six friends are members of the National Honor Society (NHS), and almost all are Student Council officers.

All six performed in this year’s student musical production. Several are all-state athletes and have played in district and state competition.

The Student Council organizes the first of nine nights of Las Posadas, a Hispanic tradition recalling Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay in the days leading up to Christmas.

Bishop O’Donnell, who was still very new to this diocese, accepted Logan’s invitation to attend the first night.

“We were pretty star-struck when he came,” Logan recalled. “He was really cool, like a genuine celebrity.”

There wound up not being enough song books for everyone who attended.

“Bishop O’Donnell shared his with me,” said James. “It was really nice.”

Las Posadas was the first time Logan heard about praying a novena — a series of nine daily prayers offered in honor of the nine months Jesus spent in the Blessed Mother’s womb.

“And then Max brought the idea to do a novena before each time we took the ACT and again before we got the results back,” said Austin.

“I think that started us all on a swing back to the faith,” he said.

Max said he enjoyed playing varsity sports all through high school.

“It was fun to be in front of a crowd and play soccer and basketball and have everyone cheer for you,” he said.

But now with his varsity days behind him, he felt kind of empty.

A cousin who’s going into the seminary suggested to him, “You should start praying the Rosary.”

“And then, it became kind of a habit, and I was doing it daily,” said Max. “And then I started not just praying for things I wanted, but also for wisdom and to be kinder.”

It’s helped him become much happier.

“A lot of good things started happening in my life and in the friend group,” he said. “There are so many graces that are there for the asking. You just have to knock on the door.”

Drawing closer to God “gives you a fullness that sports can’t give you and that money and grades and cars can’t give you,” said Max.

Inspiration

For their senior mission trip, Sacred Heart’s Class of 2026 traveled to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City.

Blessed Rother (1935-1981) was a missionary priest from Oklahoma who was killed while ministering in Guatemala.

Although not particularly gifted academically, he poured everything he had into his ministry and led countless people to Christ.

“I think Blessed Stanley Rother is a perfect of example of just taking all you have and giving it to God,” said Max. “If someone who’s very talented only gives 1 percent of their effort toward the faith, that’s nothing compared to someone who’s ‘regular’ and gives their whole being to God.”

Max noted that God presents unique gifts and talents to each person.

“And it’s our job to use them,” Max stated. “And not necessarily just for our success but also to be an example to others.”

James recalled being in grade school and looking up to the seniors at Sacred Heart.

“I just wanted to be like them,” he said.

Nonetheless, as a younger student, he never imagined accomplishing great things.

“But I started realizing that everyone around me wanted to help me, and I accepted their love and compassion,” he said. “And over time, I became more of a person that I didn’t think I could be.”

Anthony, whose mother passed away when he was young, believes in the power of surrendering to God’s plan.

“If you allow him to mold you and if you find joy in everything you do and pursue, he will guide you,” said Anthony. “So put your faith in God and look for every little piece of joy in every little thing you do.”

Anthony’s older brother, Brian Sierra, was the salutatorian of Sacred Heart’s Class of 2019.

“You talk about a good role model!” said Anthony. “I really wanted to be like him.”

Thomas credited much of his own success to having a great group of friends.

“I think God has not only gifted me with natural talent, but also with a great bunch of people to surround myself with,” he said. “I think the highest of all my friends.

“They’re the coolest group of people,” he said, “and through them, I have been lifted up in so many ways. Through my faith, through my creative endeavors, they’ve always been here for me.”

“We wanted to study because we wanted to see each other succeed,” said Max.

Until last year, Austin never considered himself to be particularly creative. But once he decided to start drawing, his biggest inspirations came while he was at Mass or in Adoration.

“I think that’s because God is assisting me in my creation,” he said. “And that’s what led me to pursue the path of architecture. Because I wanted to design places that feel welcoming and comfortable and have a community where everyone has a place to be.”

James is grateful to Logan for encouraging him, teasing him and cajoling him to keep getting better.

“Not just with the ACT but pushing me entirely academically and to be a better person,” said James.

“And my other friends, they definitely dropped in on pushing me,” he said.

Anthony pointed to the healthy competition he and his friends share.

“We were able to motivate each other to push and push and push,” he said. “I think the energy we originally had for videogames and sports and everything, we directed it toward something we knew would benefit our futures.”

“So, if you ever want to achieve more, get a great group of people!” said Thomas.

“And be happy for others!” Logan added.

Spread the joy

The six friends have set out to make weekly Confession a priority and get to daily Mass whenever they can.

“We’ve seen Logan’s example,” said Max. “He’ll come to school and he’ll just be beaming for no apparent reason.”

Anthony couldn’t say enough about the value of good friends mixed with a faith-based education.

“I think having the opportunity to learn about God at the same time you’re studying everything else really helps,” he said. “It helps you stay focused.”

Whenever he was stressing out about a test or an assignment, he would stop and pray silently.

“That’s what pushed me and I would say all of us through some very, very hard times,” he said.

Now, Anthony goes out of his way to be that kind of presence to everyone at school.

“All the support and love I receive at this place, I’d love to spread it even more, because that’s how you show God’s love,” he said.

Pace-setters

Max is convinced that his friends and the rest of the Class of 2026 are setting a good example for those who will come after them.

“You can be successful in a lot of things, and you can put God first while you’re doing that, because that’s what’s really going to matter,” he said.

They’re grateful to their parents for sacrificing to send them to Sacred Heart and for putting up with their obsessions; to all of their teachers for helping to fill their minds with wisdom and knowledge; and to School Counselor Sarah Tippie for helping them apply for scholarships.

Now, Logan asks for continued prayers “for us to decrease so that God can increase, and for us to be instruments that he can use to the fullest.”

“Pray for the incredibly strong community we have,” James suggested. “I want to be successful so I can give back like so many people have given to me and our entire class.”

“Prayers of thanksgiving — that’s such a big thing!” said Max. “We don’t realize how lucky we have it a lot of the time.”