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Kendall Anderson endall Anderson’s mornings begin with a gentle rhythm to prepare her for busy days. She rises at 5:30 a.m., getting to Seaforth High School early to sit in her car and listen to music. Kendall navigates a junior year schedule brimming with AP classes, club engagements, volleyball
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practice and homework assignments. “It can be mentally taxing,” she says. But, amidst this whirlwind of activities, she maintains unwavering focus. At 17, Kendall is no stranger to the pressures of academic rigors, but tries to approach each challenge with determination and grace. Even when burnout may lurk on the horizon, Kendall remains resolute in her pursuit of excellence. “If I could talk to my younger self, I guess [I’d] try and push myself a little more,” she says. Kendall has already achieved major milestones. She was one of only 48 students worldwide to receive a perfect score on her AP United States Government and Politics exam in 2023, putting her in the top 0.01% of students taking that test. She is also a force on the volleyball court,
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earning all-conference honors the past two of her three years on the team. Despite her perfect test score, Kendall said she felt much more prepared for her other AP exams. “I walked out [of the psychology exam] and was like, yeah, I know I got a five [out of five] on that,” she says. “I know I missed a couple of things, but I was confident.” Kendall was in Spanish class when she received an email from the College Board about her score. “My jaw dropped for a second,” she says. “I was like, this isn’t real.” After taking the time to authenticate the email, Kendall immediately sent a screenshot to her biggest competition: her older brother, Brandt Anderson. Brandt was the one who influenced Kendall to take AP U.S. Government and Politics, launching a bit of a family rivalry between the siblings – and their teachers. Throughout the year, Kendall’s teacher, Sarah Thibault, and Brandt’s teacher, Skip Thibault, who happen to be father and daughter, had an ongoing friendly competition to see which sibling would score better on the AP exam.