Addison Trail names January recipient of 88's Best recognition

Mario Macedo has been named as Addison Trail’s January recipient of 88’s Best recognition. Macedo, a senior, was recognized during the Feb. 24 District 88 Board of Education meeting.

Macedo’s outstanding performance in the classroom has earned him a place on the Distinction Honor Roll all four years of his high school career, two AT’s Best awards, a Student of the Semester recognition and acknowledgment as an AP Scholar and an Illinois State Scholar.

Macedo’s parents left their family and the world they knew in Mexico to give Macedo and his siblings better opportunities to succeed in the U.S. His excellence in the classroom is not only demonstrated by his exceptional grades, but also by the courses he has taken. Macedo will graduate this year having successfully completed 15 Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level courses and 10 honors courses.

“When I had Macedo as a freshman, he was a quiet leader,” said Addison Trail teacher Becky Cibulka. “I was so impressed with his work ethic and his drive for excellence. He was part of the first class that was able to take AP human geography at Addison Trail, and he earned a 5 (the highest grade possible) on his AP test because of all of his hard work.”

Not only does Macedo commit himself to academics, but he excels in other areas as well. He has been a four-year member of Addison Trail’s Academic Team, Math Team and Debate Team (of which he also was Treasurer). During the past two years, Macedo also has been a member of various groups/clubs, including Science Olympiad, DECA (he was a State qualifier), Youth and Government, Model UN and Science Club. He even took a particle physics course at Fermilab.

Macedo also is heavily involved in community service at Addison Trail and within the village. During the past four years, he has volunteered with the Food Drive, the Kiwanis Breakfast, Key Club, the Easter Egg Hunt and the Activity Fair.

Macedo is waiting to hear back from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for college. He plans to study aerospace engineering.