SHS junior Riley Ibero scores 36 on ACT, credits math competitions as preparation

On the morning of Dec. 21, Scottsbluff junior Riley Ibero got out of bed and hopped in the shower to get ready for the day. It wasn’t long before he got an email notification he wasn’t expecting.

It was the results for the ACT test he took about two weeks prior.

Riley Ibero, son of Shannon and Frank Ibero, got a perfect ACT score on his first try in December. He said that while he gets a bit of a breather, he still has to focus on other aspects of his schoolwork.

“I’ve seen (a) notification on my phone from my email, so I checked it and saw it was the ACT results and saw the 36,” he said. “I was really surprised.”

He was so surprised that he quickly threw on some clothes and ran through the house in search of his parents.

“He met Shannon coming up the stairs, and he swung around the corner and just about ran her over on the stairs,” Riley’s dad, Frank, said.

Shannon, Riley’s mom, said, “I knew he was excited about something when he was coming through the house that fast.”

While he was surprised at his score, Riley said on the day of the test, he wasn’t actually that nervous. He attributes that to being a part of mathletes team.

“I wasn’t too worried about it,” he said. “A lot of that comes from all my experiences in math club because during those competitions, it’s a similar testing environment, so I’ve been there are a lot.”

Aside from math club, Riley is also involved in the choir and band programs at SHS. He plays baritone and piano, and enjoys doing sound boards and audio production for shows and events like the annual spring musical.

SHS junior Riley Ibero works on setting up new microphones in the auditorium. Ibero, who got a 36 on the ACT, said he is looking at going into acoustical engineering after high school.

Frank said Riley’s love for math and music makes him a perfect blend of his parents.

“Riley talks about being involved a lot with math and music, and that’s really just kind of a great reflection of both of us because I’m a music teacher, but Shannon actually has a degree in math education,” Frank said. “So, he kind of really took both of them and it’s this just wonderful blend of both.”

It’s this blend of math and music that is currently leading Riley to consider acoustical engineering as his path of study and career following high school. Acoustical engineering works with sound, sound properties and sound treatment, often for various commercial buildings.

Frank said if they had anyone to thank for getting Riley to where he is today, it would be high school math teacher Shelby Aaberg.

“He really does a great job, and he’s done a great job guiding Riley ever since middle school and through math club. When we found out about this 36, that was one of the first people we also let know …I don’t think he’d (Riley) be where he was today without all the work he’s done with math club and certainly with the mentoring from Shelby.”

While he doesn’t know where he wants to go yet, Riley will still be preparing himself over the next year and a half for college. He just has one thing that’s already taken care of and out of the way.

Riley Ibero, a junior at SHS, plays the piano. Ibero, who recently got a perfect score on the ACT, loves music, sound and math, which is why he is considering going into acoustical engineering following high graduation in 2023.

“One of the first days we were back here at school … Shelby Aaberg took a little time to kind of talk to him and kind of counsel him a little bit on, ‘OK, here’s what’s next. Yeah, you get to breathe and relax a little bit, but now your focus shifts a little bit,’ and so even in that (he’s) still coaching and mentoring.”

Since Riley got a perfect 36 on the ACT — on his first ACT test ever, aside from one he took in seventh grade — he is now exempt from taking the school sponsored test in April. Despite the bit of stress relief it provides, it has just given him a chance to shift focus on other academics and activities.

Right now, Riley said, the perfect score is likely his greatest accomplishment so far. However, he is looking forward to continue doing well in math club. He placed second at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, competition and was in the top 50 of the math bowl portion of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln competition, which qualified him for the second portion in April. With the 36 ACT, he can now focus on the competition, which he is looking forward to.

“It’s going to be a lot fun,” he said.

*Originally published in the Star-Herald on Jan. 28, 2022.