“CJ Baab, oh yeah, you can take him,” said IB chemistry teacher James Atkins, as if to imply Baab mastery of the class’ content.

For Baab, mastering challenging work is nothing new. While Hillsborough County IB students traditionally take three higher level, or HL, classes and three standard level, or SL, classes, Baab, a junior, has chosen to test himself even further by taking four higher level classes. For the past four graduating classes, no student has taken four HLs.

Money always fascinated Baab, so his freshman year, he took both advancement placement Macro and Micro economics exams, earning the highest score of “5”. Because of his obvious of mastery of economics, IB admistrators allowed Baab to take Economics as his fourth Higher Level class, along with HL Chemistry, English and Mathematics. He takes both French and History SL.

“I thought taking HL economics would be a really easy fourth HL and it would be like not even a class for me,” Baab said. “I manage my time well, and don’t really have issues with my schedule and I’m also in Mu Alpha Theta and FBLA.”

CJ is in the top two of the junior IB class and eventually hopes to use the knowledge he’s gained in high school in a economics-related career.

“I want to be an investment advisor because I’ve always loved money and economics is my favorite class”