At only 13 years old, Thomas Brueggen is the youngest student at Potosi High School.
The first two hours of the eighth grader’s day are spent at the high school taking college level courses with juniors and seniors. Since not every eighth grader spends their school days with college instructors in the high school building, it leads people to ask questions like “why?”
Thomas is unique to others his age because of his intellectual giftedness. It is no secret that Thomas is particularly smart, specifically in the areas of math and science, in comparison to his peers. He has been quite successful in math competitions at the state, regional, and national levels for multiple years.
His high school teachers and peers have nothing but great things to say about his intelligence. Mrs. Fulton, Thomas’s Chemistry teacher, says that he often catches on to difficult material super quick even in comparison to the 11th and 12th graders around him. Mr. McMahan, Thomas’s College PreCalculus teacher, says that Thomas could probably even teach the class if he wanted to.
Apart from being a real life Young Sheldon, as some of his peers say, Thomas also stands out due to his love for video games, his hilarious and energetic personality, and his love and talent for music.
Thomas plays french horn in the eighth grade band where he excels greatly. He is greatly talented as he has been a mention in the all district band.
Mr. Simms, Thomas’s band director, says that Thomas is full of natural talent and determination to perfect his instrument.
Thomas even uses his musical talents outside of the band room as well. In his reach class, Thomas is composing a piano piece as part of his interest assignment.
In reach, Thomas is particularly impressive even in the gifted group.
Mrs. Ross, Thomas’s reach teacher, says that he usually doesn’t hang out with his peers because of the academic differences at hand. However, when she makes Thomas work with other students, he genuinely enjoys it. She says that he has a bright future ahead of him and she can’t wait to see what he does with his career.
Thomas has some big goals for his own future. He wants to go to Missouri S&T to study Physics and become a Physicist for his career. He is more than ahead of being on track to achieve this as he has scored a 30 on the ACT – which is higher than 93% of all test takers – at only 13 years old.
Thomas had some memorable experiences during his ACT where he embraced his awkwardness talking to a group of girls. Thomas claims he has “zero social intelligence” however, academic intelligence is something he most definitely has.
When Thomas returns to his regular middle school classes, he still never ceases to amaze his teachers at his academic excellence.
Mr. Bradley, Thomas’s ELA teacher, says that Thomas is incredibly intelligent as well as hilarious. Mrs. Lange, Thomas’s science teacher, says that Thomas stands out because he is excited about learning and he can actually read cursive unlike some of his peers.
Whether he is solving an unsolvable equation or shredding on the french horn, Thomas is an incredible young adult. He is so full of energy and life and he is bound to do some fascinating things in his future.
