Ashley Zhou is a high achiever.

But Zhou's most recent accomplishment even caught the recent St. Petersburg High graduate by surprise a little bit.

Zhou, 18, recorded a perfect score on her high school International Baccalaureate diploma exams. Her perfect score on the exams was one of just two - in the entire country.

"I open it, go over to the scores and I just see 7,7,7 across the row," Zhou said of seeing her results. "And I see 45 at the bottom and it just made my day, my week."

To excel on the exams, Zhou had to have intimate knowledge of six different college level subjects. Still, Zhou considers herself an everyday teenager.

“I love reading, I love Netflix," she said. "Traveling is a huge part of my life.”

In fact, Zhou spent part of last summer traveling to rural China to teach English.

This fall, the St. Pete High valedictorian will begin her studies at Duke University.

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Zhou credits her family with her work ethic. Zhou, who plans to study medicine and also speaks fluent Madarin, said she is extremely fortunate.

"I’m very well aware of all the priveleges I’ve had access to living in the United States," Zhou said. "Having access to the IB program and I want to give back."