NATCHEZ — As many high school seniors struggle to plan their futures, one local teen has his all mapped out.

Lee Screws Jr., 17, is into computers and he plans to make a living from them.

Earlier this month Screws, a senior at Fallin Career Center, won first place in the computer problem solving competition at the Future Business Leaders of America conference in Jackson.

Screws’ win in Jackson has placed him in the running for the national competition in June.

“I’m pretty excited,” he said.

The same excitement that Screws has today was first cultivated years ago when he began to tool around with his family’s computers.

Screws said he and his father would spend time experimenting with video editing programs.

From there, Screws and his parents noticed he had a knack for fixing computer problems.

For Screws, triumph over a difficult computer program is all part of the challenge.

“It’s all about trial and error,” he said. “You find what works and what doesn’t, and you keep working on it.”

Screws has also developed quite a reputation for himself as a sort of computer handyman.

Shannon Burts, a computer course instructor at Fallin, said Screws is frequently called on to fix the school’s computer problems.

Screws said it’s not uncommon for him to go to Natchez High School to work on their computers when they are having problems.

“I like that kind of stuff,” he said.

Screws works at Susie B. West Primary School as an office assistant and regularly works on the school’s computers.

“If they have a problem they’ll say ‘Oh, where’s Lee,’” he said.

In fact Screws has even been called to the homes of several school administrators to work on their computers.

On Wednesday, Screws’ parents bumped into a friend with a computer that had an ill-fitted CD drive.

In less than 20 minutes, he had the problem fixed.

Screws only has one problem when it comes to working on of computers. His hands are too big to fit inside the computer’s housing.

After graduation Screws plans to attend Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson and study computer network technology.

After Wesson, Screws says he plans to attend a four-year university.

And those close to Screws have confidence in his futures success.

Lee Sr., Screws’ father, said he has no doubt his son will go on to great success in the computer world.

“We know he’s going to do great,” he said. “We are very proud.”