Jason Hutchins said he decided to attend the Mississippi School of Math and Science while in the fifth-grade at McLaurin Elementary School.

&uot;It sounded interesting and it sounded like a challenge,&uot; said the 16-year-old Natchez resident.

So as a sophomore at Natchez High School, Hutchins applied to the public gifted school because he thought it might help him in the his future.

&uot;MSMS (is) a good jumping point for wherever you want to go in life,&uot; Hutchins said.

A participant in the gifted program for the Natchez-Adams School District, Hutchins found things to be different at the boarding school of about 270 students in Columbus.

&uot;I expected to go there and have all &uot;As&uot; like I did at Natchez High School but it was not quite as simple as I thought it would be,&uot; he said.

Still he has found MSMS to offer plenty of opportunities through clubs and workshops.

&uot;At MSMS they give you the opportunities. They basically hand them to you,&uot; Hutchins said. &uot;It’s your choice if you want to take them or not.&uot;

And Hutchins has taken advantage of those opportunities.

For example, he is a member of many clubs such as the Spanish club, the Grecian Urn Society, the art club, the international thespian society, the beta club and the voices of harmony gospel choir.

He is also the vice president of the student government association.

&uot;Trust me I stay busy,&uot; Hutchins said. &uot;I don’t know how I find time for (everything).&uot;

He also took part in several workshops this summer attending the junior statesman of American conference at Georgetown University, the experimental economics camp at the University of Mississippi and Boys State.

Hutchins said his experience with student government at MSMS has kept him interested in the political process.

At MSMS, students operate a government with judicial, legislative and executive branches. &uot;It’s really set up like our government and we actually have the power to change things and make rules,&uot; Hutchins said.

Hutchins plans to attend college and study economics with an emphasis in journalism and political science.

He is the son of Joe and Georgia Hutchins.