LAPLACE —It isn’t easy to get Christopher Bergeron to talk.

A shy, quiet young fellow, he doesn’t like to say very much with words, but he says a lot with his actions.

Bergeron, a senior, is currently the top student at St. Charles Catholic High School in LaPlace.

A member of the school’s “Thirty Plus Club,” he scored a 30 on the ACT test when he was a sophomore.

He has maintained a 4.0 grade point average throughout his high school career, all while taking the most rigorous college prep courses offered at the school.

Just recently, he was named as a Commended Student in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program, meaning he placed in the top five percent of more than 1.6 million students who entered the competition and took the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Bergeron said it was nothing.

“I’ve always done pretty well on standardized tests,” he said.

There’s little he hasn’t done well.

Bergeron said he began reading when he was just 4 years old, and, if he absolutely had to pick one, English is his favorite subject. He also is a member of the National Honor Society.

“Christopher is an intelligent, disciplined, deep-thinking and kind young man,” said St. Charles principal Drew Cupit. “We are blessed to have him as a member of our school family at St. Charles Catholic High School and are sure that his future is bright. At SCC, we believe using God’s gift of a strong intellect to its potential is a very excellent way to say thanks to our Lord.”

Bergeron said he feels no pressure, either at home or at school, to do well. It just comes naturally.

“I’ve always done well in school,” he said. “It comes pretty easy.”

Bergeron hopes to parlay his hard work into, perhaps, a law career. He has applied to LSU, Tulane, UL-Lafayette and Loyola University.

“I don’t really want to go too far from home,” he said.

One of the classes Bergeron is taking this year is Law and Morality. His teacher, Ron Courtade said: “Christopher is polite, respectful and self-motivated. In class he is attentive, quiet and determined. His academic performance is highlighted by excellent writing skills, along with advanced logic and reasoning skills.”

When he’s not studying or writing, Bergeron might be running. He is a member of the St. Charles Catholic cross country team and, last year, he ran the 1,600 and 3,200 meters on the track team.

“Pretty much everyone in my family runs,” said Bergeron, who started competitive running when he was in fifth grade at Ascension of Our Lord.

“It gives me a chance to think about other things,” he said.