NATCHEZ — A pony was the ultimate motivation for Wesley Gore to retake the ACT in hopes of scoring one point higher.

“My dad made an agreement that if I got a 32, I could get any car I wanted,” said Gore, who is a senior at Trinity Episcopal Day School. “I had gotten a 31 previously, so I took a lot more practice tests and decided to take it again.

“I got a 32 and a 2013 (Ford) Mustang.”

While he admits the score on the college preparatory test also got him extra scholarship money to attend Louisiana State University in the fall, Gore said the Mustang is probably the better of the two rewards.

“I’ve always wanted a Mustang, because I’ve just always loved those cars,” Gore said. “I got to custom design everything on the car — it’s pretty nice.”

The high test score not only earned Gore a new ride, but it also earned him the title of STAR student for his school.

The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition program honors one student per high school based on ACT score and academic achievement in the classroom. Gore joins more than 250 students from around the state who have earned the title this year.

The award is sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Council.

The high ACT score came after several tries, Gore said.

“I took it every once in ninth and 10th grade, and twice in the 11th grade,” Gore said. “

As STAR student, Gore chose one teacher who had the greatest impact on his educational career as STAR teacher.

Gore’s STAR teacher is Trinity English teacher Gwen Young. Young has been teaching at Trinity for 26 years and has been named STAR teacher nine times.

Gore said Young’s classes and teaching style can be credited for his interest in literature as well as his high ACT score.

“I actually made a 36 on the English part, and that’s all because of my STAR teacher,” Gore said. “In the 10th grade, I got Mrs. Young, and I really fell in love with English.

“The way she grades essays in her class really helped me on the ACT.”

Gore said Young places a check mark next to a sentence that has an error on essays, but doesn’t point out the error.

“You have to go back and find the error, and that’s a lot of what you had to do on the ACT,” Gore said. “Her way of grading forces you to go back and see what you need to work on.”

Young said Gore being selected as STAR student didn’t come as a surprise to her.

“I was elated, but not surprised because his aptitude is just stellar,” Gore said. “He has the intellectual depth that makes him a pleasure to teach.”

Gore is president of the student council and National Honor Society and is involved in various clubs and organizations such as Key Club and book club, among others.

Gore is the son of Wes and Karey Gore.