Crystal D. Brown plans to keep a &uot;steady pace&uot; during her sophomore year at Natchez High School.

&uot;I want to make good grades. I want to maintain a 4.0 if I can,&uot; the honor student said.

Brown said she wants to earn high marks so she can go to college and get a job.

&uot;I know in the future its going to come back and haunt me if I don’t keep my grades up,&uot; she said.

Brown said she is considering becoming a pediatrician.

She and several hundred other Natchez High sophomores have been making the adjustment from ninth to 10th grade this month.

As ninth-graders, the students were separated from the upperclassmen, but as 10th graders the students are more on their on, Brown said.

&uot;In ninth grade they kind of pampered us a little bit,&uot; she said.

But as 10th graders the students have more class work for the honors classes and make more of their own decisions about work – such as creating their own thesis statements for papers.

Brown said she thinks she will get used to the change.

&uot;I know when I get adjusted to it I’m going to do my best to keep a steady pace.

In addition to making good grades, Brown is also involved in other school activities.

She plays basketball and wants to try out for tennis this year.

She is also a member of TSA&160;(Technology Discovery Club) and is thinking about joining three other clubs, the Not Here Club, the Beta Club and the Student Council.

&uot;I just like to help out (and) do what I can to make things better,&uot; Brown said.

The Not Here Club does peer mediation and hangs signs around campus speaking out against tobacco and drug use.

And the Beta Club and Student Council do service projects, Brown said.

&uot;I like helping people, she said.

Brown is the daughter of Ray and Diane Brown.