NATCHEZ — Xavier Bradford logged three-weeks in college before entering his senior year of high school.

The Natchez High School student participated in the Mississippi Governor’s School program, which provides academic, creative and leadership experiences for nearly 3,500 rising high school junior and seniors across the state.

Students who are accepted into the program must be in the top 10 percent of their class or have scored a 25 on their ACT.

Bradford earned his trip by being the top student in his class, but said the long list of clubs and extra curricular activities in which he’s involved didn’t hurt.

“I’m in a lot of clubs at school, but I’m looking to get even more involved this year,” Bradford said. “It’s my senior year, so I’m trying to make the most of it.”

Bradford is also entering his senior year at NHS with three hours of elective honors credit that he earned at the program, which can be used at any Mississippi college or university.

The program, which is hosted at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, offers high school students a residential collegiate experience that blends cultural, academic, social and recreational activities.

Bradford said participants are given several course options in which to participate during their three-week stay.

“I picked magazine publishing where we wrote stories every day and published them in a magazine,” he said. “We wrote about different topics, poems or whatever we thought of.

“I enjoy writing, so it was the right choice for me.”

Bradford said the program also gave him an insight into what college life was like, as all the participants stayed in the university’s dorms and walked around on campus.

“We had water-balloon fights, toga parties and other recreational activities like basketball, volley ball and tennis,” he said. “It was great.”

Bradford said he enjoyed the academic opportunities of the program, but also enjoyed getting to meet other teenagers his age who shared his interests.

“Meeting kids that were just like me was probably the best part,” he said. “We got split into teams for different classes and activities, and I miss the orange team a lot.”

Bradford said he hopes to attend Mississippi State after graduation with hopes of eventually becoming an orthodontist.

Bradford is a member of Beta Club and National Honor Society. He is the son of Dwantra Anderson and Robert Bradford Sr.