By Prabhvir Lakhan | Reporter

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At Avon High School, students take calculus as juniors and seniors. However, Gideon Thomas, a sophomore, is taking AP Calculus AB this year.

“I think it’s a challenge for myself, and I can see how well I can do in a harder class,” said Thomas.

In the fifth grade, Thomas got a 303 on the math NWEA. This allowed him to take Algebra I in the sixth grade, and since then he has been three years ahead of the average Avon student that takes Algebra I as a freshman.

“During senior year, I think I’m going to be taking an online class through some college for semester five and six of calculus,” Thomas said.

Thomas is also in a lot of extracurricular activities. He is involved in Quiz Bowl, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the robotics teams, and the tennis team.  AP Calculus AB also gives a lot of homework, so he has to find time for his homework.

Thomas’ friends compare test scores and always try to beat him on tests.

“I know my friends created the ‘Gideon Scale’ which is when you get better than me on a test you’re super good at it, but if you did worse than me you’re still decent,” Thomas said.

Thomas has a lot of other interests other than school.

“I think a big thing that a lot of people don’t expect is that I’m a big football and basketball fan. They just think that I’m into math,” Thomas said.

Thomas has memorized 87 digits of pi and wants to be a computer programmer when he’s done with his education.

“I want to go to either Stanford or MIT. I want to major in computer science most likely and be a computer programmer after that,” Thomas said.

Thomas thinks that taking AP Calculus as a sophomore has advantages and disadvantages.

“I think the advantages is that I’ll have a lot more math credits, and I can save a lot of money on tuition. It can also be a disadvantage because it’s fairly hard class and there’s a good amount of homework,” Thomas said.