For some students, ambition is so big that nerves cannot drown out the excitement of traveling to a new place.

Kierra Brown, a student at Wesson Attendance Center, recently attended the Lott Institute for Rising Ninth Graders at the University of Mississippi.

“I was really nervous and excited to meet new friends,” she said.

Brown was nominated for the program by a principal at her school and quickly decided to go through the application process.

“I was so excited [when I found out]; I started dancing,” Brown said.

During the program, they made a trip to Arkansas and visited the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and the Little Rock Central High School. Brown said her favorite memory was at the high school when the group took a picture.

“We were hanging on the side of the concrete,” she said.

The classroom setting of the program discussed the topic “The Problem in American Democracy.” Brown said that they learned about the issues in the United States and what people were doing to help.

At the end of the program, she had to write a paper that showed what she wanted to do to help her own community.

“I came up with an organization to encourage people to do their best in high school and not drop out,” she said. “People really need to take advantage of their education.”

She said that the U.S. is lucky to have free education, and many other nations don’t have they same opportunity.

Brown also said that the experience helped prepare her for the future.

“The experience in Ole Miss has definitely helped me to communicate better and develop my leadership skills,” she said.

Brown has her sights set high on an Ivy League education, preferably at Harvard or Yale. Afterward she would like to attend medical school and become a pediatrician.

Brown is a member of the high school marching band and the basketball team at Wesson. She is a member of Girls Rule and Wesson Cobra Scholars.