NATCHEZ — One local student is doing what few have done before — well, not for a while at least.

Guy Wimberly, a senior at Natchez High School, recently learned he’s a semifinalist for the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program.

And by some estimates Wimberly is the first student from Natchez in approximately 5 years to receive such an honor.

“I had heard there had not been anyone in a while,” he said.

Wimberly said a friend originally encouraged him to take the qualifying exam.

And after learning he could win a full college scholarship — he did just that.

There probably are not many high school students who seek out school administrators to take additional tests, but Wimberly did.

Wimberly sought out the school’s guidance counselor so he could take the qualifying exam.

After successfully taking the qualifying test, Wimberly joined the ranks of a multitude of students who also did well on the test.

Eileen Artemakis, director of public relations for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, said approximately 1.5 million students across the country are eligible to take the exam.

But of those students only 16,000 go on to become semifinalists.

“It’s a big academic honor,” Artemakis said. “These students have shown the potential for doing well in rigorous college studies.”

And once in college, Wimberly said he plans to study mathematics, with a concentration in teaching, and then pursue a master’s degree.

Wimberly said once he completes his college studies he’d actually like to go back to Natchez High School to teach math.

“It’s a great place to be and I definitely don’t want to leave,” he said of Natchez.

Superintendent of the Natchez-Adams School District, Anthony Morris, said he and Wimberly have actually had conversations about Wimberly’s future in the district.

“He’s quite an impressive young man,” Morris said. “A student like him makes you feel good about the future of America.”

While Morris said he has a great deal of confidence in Wimberly’s future, it’s difficult to see how Wimberly has time to plan and manage his current schedule, much less future plans.

In addition to normal student responsibilities, Wimberly is taking an advanced placement calculus class online in hopes of testing out of college calculus, plays in the school band, is a member of the school’s cross-country team and plays soccer.

“It can get hectic,” Wimberly said.

But so far that hectic schedule hasn’t slowed Wimberly, who is also president of the youth group at Jefferson Street United Methodist Church.

Wimberly also acknowledged that some people might be surprised that the area’s first semifinalist is out of a public school.

But Wimberly said that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

“It’s a great school and you can get a great education there,” he said. “If you sit in a class all year and do nothing, that’s what you’ll get.”