NATCHEZ — For 16-year-old Natchez High School student Nia Davis, reading is just part of life.

Whether its morning, noon or night, Davis can be found browsing the pages of a book, and to her, there really isn’t anything better.

“I can read all day long,” she said.

Davis recently finished reading the book “Joplin’s Ghost,” and she got more than a great story out this read.

Davis placed third at the Mississippi Regional reading fair in Jackson after taking home first place in the NHS and Natchez-Adams School District reading fairs for her project on the book.

“I picked the book to do the project on because it is music inspired,” she said. “It was such a great story, and since I love music, it was something I could relate too.”

For the reading fair, students must choose a book at their reading level, read it and then design a project board related to elements of the book such as the title, author and plot summary.

“When I read my books, I write down what I am going to put on the board as soon as I find it,” she said.

Davis said she put a lot of time into her board on “Joplin’s Ghost.” She said she individually cut out different styles of letters for the title and added pictures of musical items to her board to fit the book’s theme.

Reading isn’t the only thing for which this NHS honor roll student has been awarded. Davis was also recently named one of NHS’s good citizens for the school year.

“It just feels good to be recognized for something like that,” she said.

With two years of high school left in front of her, Davis said she can’t wait to graduate so she can begin training to be a neurosurgeon.

“I like the human brain and how it works,” she said.

“People always say it is a terrible thing to waste, so I just want to study all I can about it.”

Davis said she hopes to eventually help with breakthroughs in brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

“I want to do some work to see if there is a way to postpone its effects longer,” she said.

“I just want to look into things to see if there is anything I can change with the brain.”

With school letting out for the summer, Davis said she is going to be looking for her first job while she prepares for her junior year at NHS.

Davis is the daughter of Monica Morrison and Gordon Morrison.