GRAHAM, NC (WGHP) — “She’s the epitome of what every teacher dreams of in a class.”
That’s how AP US Government and Politics teacher Tammy Powell describes student Addison Varinowski.
According to Powell Varinowski, “always came in ready to debate. And discuss concepts, and it is a lot, it’s a lot to fit into a semester.”
Varinowski took the AP class last year at River Mill Academy and said it was one of her all-time favorites.
“I think it’s just interesting to think about how they kind of affect your everyday life,” she said. “And how we’ve gotten to where we are, and how much they have to change and adapt. Especially as society grows, because you if think about it, the Founding Fathers And The Constitutional Convention of 1787, are not thinking about smartphones, or the internet, or airplanes. And all this stuff that has come up super rapidly. So a lot of it has to change, and you have to know how you can affect that change. I think that’s really interesting.”
That could be why she was ready when it came time to take the AP Exam.
She said, “Taking the exam, I felt pretty good about it.”
But Varinowski says she had no idea she wouldn’t miss anything. She was one of only 48 students worldwide to score perfectly on the exam.
“It was kind of shocking I had woken up, like, early that morning, because I was anticipating, like, nervous for it. Kind of waiting for it. And then it just kind of made my whole day!” she said.
Varinowski says the college-level exam isn’t easy.
“It was like 55 multiple choice questions and then four they’re called FRQs. They are free-response questions, and each is formatted slightly differently. You have one that’s like just general knowledge about the course. And one that deals with a specific court case. And one that deals with a graph, and you have to write an argumentative essay,” she said.
When it comes to her success, she points to her teacher for getting the class ready.
Varinowski said, “She gave us a lot of resources. We’d be sitting in class going over the documents, and then she’d send us home with some more stuff. She really just tried reinforcing that. She offered lots of tutoring. Lots of help whenever we needed it.”
While her interest in government is strong, Varinowski says that’s not a career she wants to pursue.
Instead, she says she’s, “kind of thinking of going into like early childhood education that kind of route. Or just education in general.”
Which makes her teacher Mrs. Powell very happy.
“I think it would do wonders for children to know that there’s someone like Addison that wants to help them versus maybe helping her bank account,” she said. “She wants to be there for kids, and in today’s society we need more Addisons for the children.”
