NATCHEZ — Vidalia High School junior, Deondrias Boxley, said he not only believes he has a bright future ahead of himself in medicine but Boxley said he has a shining present in business leadership as well.

Boxley is the state vice president of leadership in the National DECA Society, and as such, he attended the group’s emerging leaders summit in Chicago last summer.

“DECA is a club that builds entrepreneurs,” Boxley said. “Within the club are emerging leaders. Their job is to teach the students to become the business leaders of the business world and the real world, period.”

At the national summit, Boxley said he spoke to and inspired many of his peers while they taught him to grow as a leader.

“We went through a series of workshops,” he said, “so we could come back to our fall leadership conference and teach our Louisiana (DECA) members how to be leaders and pass those qualities that we were taught down to them.”

Boxley said he worked in a group setting, where his leadership skills grew as he taught other DECA members.

“Each day, we had lunch with the (Chicago) chapter members. They had the chance to ask (the state leaders) questions,” he said. “As they asked us questions, they helped us improve our leadership skills as well. They taught us dinner etiquette, public speaking and how to go with the flow even if we messed up during our presentations.”

Of all the skills he was taught during the summit, Boxley said the public speaking lessons were the most helpful. Boxley said he hopes to one day pursue a career in surgical oncology and believes the skills he learned will help get him there.

Boxley said he hopes to cure cancer, “Eventually,” he said, “if it’s not already cured by the time I finish medical school.

“I’ve had many family members pass from cancer, and I’ve started to open my eyes to how bad it really is.”

Boxley said his grandfather, George Washington; his uncle, Roscoe Washington, and his aunt, Rosie Etter, all died of cancer.

“I just don’t want anyone else’s family to have to go through the same problems,” Boxley said.

Boxley said his grandfather, Charles Boxley, was a role model to him, as well as Martin Luther King Jr., who both taught him to always pursue his dreams no matter what.

“Martin Luther King solved problems without violence,” Boxley said. “He had a voice and was a very powerful man without violence as well. He knew what to say, when to say it and exactly how to say it. … (My grandfather) is very hard working, which makes me want to be like him. He takes care of his family. He also knows what to say and when to say it.

Boxley is a member of the National Beta Club, the vice president of the student council, the vice president on of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and the president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is also the youth choir director at Old Saint Reed Baptist Church.

Boxley is confident that he has a bright future ahead of him and said he uses his inspiration to encourage others to pursue their goals as well.

“To quote Martin Luther King, ‘If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you must keep moving forward,’” he said.

Boxley is the son of Danielle Boxley and the grandson of Charles and Lucille Boxley.