VIDALIA — When it comes to schoolwork, Donovan Bray shoots for the stars.

Bray, an eighth grader at Ferriday Junior High School, is ready to move on with his education so he can work toward studying the field of astronomy.

“Outer space, the stars and constellations are all really interesting,” he said. “Orion is my favorite constellation.”

Bray said he likes astronomy so much he reads up on the subject himself.

“Some things I learn in school and some things I learn at home from checking out library books,” he said.

Astronomy is not the only thing Bray has read up on, as paleontology is another thing he said that interests him.

“Studying dinosaur bones and classifying where each one of them comes from is something I would like to do,” Bray said.

Another thing that Bray said he enjoys learning about is computers.

“I have a lot of good classes this year,” he said. “But computer literacy is my favorite. I love working with computers.”

Bray, a member of numerous honor rolls and superintendent’s lists, said science and math are the two subjects he loves the most.

“I like doing experiments,” he said. “And math has always been pretty easy. I’ve always been good at it.”

Bray says that while math and science are his favorite, he is not biased when it comes to learning.

“There isn’t really a subject I don’t like,” he said.

With a passion for school many kids his age don’t share, Bray said he realizes it is important for him to do well in his classes.

“You need to go to school so you can learn skills and other things,” he said. “If you don’t know it, then you can’t do it.”

Bray said everyone in his family encourages him to keep his grades up at school.

“My older brothers and sisters all tell me to keep doing well,” he said.

With high school just around the corner, Bray said he is curious to know what it is going to be like.

“I think it will be just like junior high, but more challenging,” he said. “I want to be challenged more.”

When he is not doing schoolwork or reading up on astronomy, Bray said he loves to just shoot the basketball or play chess.

“I play chess with my brother all the time,” he said. “I’m pretty good at it.”

Bray lives with his brother, Roy Wilson, and his sister-in-law, Erica Brooks.