NATCHEZ — In Adams County Christian School’s first year to participate in the annual Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest, one of its students not only excelled on the local level but also shined on the state level as well.

ACCS seventh grade student, John Alexander “Jack” Peterman wrote an essay that placed first among Natchez schools and then went on to place third in the state contest.

Peterman said writing is not his favorite subject. However, being as competitive as he is on the basketball court and in the classroom, he was determined to be a winner, he said.

Son of Nick Peterman and Emily Guedon, Jack helped ACCS shine on the state level as the third-place winner during their first year in the competition, Natchez DAR chapter representative Mary Ellen Rosenblatt said.

“This was the first year that ACCS participated in the DAR American History Essay Contest, … assigned by Christina Daugherty in her first year on their faculty,” Rosenblatt said. “Our chapter is pleased that both ACCS and Ms. Daugherty have made such an impressive start in this event. … Our students are competing against some of the best public and private schools in the state from both urban and rural areas.”

This year, Natchez had two chapter winners of the DAR essay contest to win third place in a statewide competition at their respective grade levels.

Kinslee Young, daughter of Amanda and Shane Young, won third place in the state for the sixth grade and helped Cathedral shine for the third consecutive year, Rosenblatt said.

Rosenblatt said each year the DAR chooses a specific historical topic for the students’ essays. This year, students were asked to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment to allow equal voting rights to women, which had been added to the U.S. Constitution on June 4, 1919.

Peterman said he imagined himself as a lawyer talking to his friend and former president, Woodrow Wilson about women’s suffrage on his wife’s behalf and encouraged him to push for the ratification of the 19th Amendment and allow equal voting rights nationwide.

Peterman said he enjoys math and science and is a member of the junior varsity basketball team at ACCS. However, essay writing was never his forte, he said.

“I really do not like writing essays at all,” Peterman said. “I started later on it because I had to get all of my facts in order. … Then I had this idea and thought it sounded cool, so I went with it. … I told Woodrow it wasn’t fair that all men could vote, even African Americans — who were once slaves at that time, but women couldn’t.”

Even after dreaming up a creative way to present a history book lesson, Peterman said he was nervous about the competition.

“At first, I didn’t even want (Daugherty) to submit it, but after reading it she said that I needed to submit it. … I was scared because when I’m in a contest I’m very competitive. I hate losing. To think that I placed third in the state is great. … I was really excited.”

Both students from ACCS and Cathedral attended the Youth Awards and Patriots Luncheon at the Mississippi DAR State Conference in Jackson a couple of weeks ago, Rosenblatt said.