NATCHEZ — Rising Trinity Episcopal School senior Joseph Harris said he decided to get busy during the summer break.

The 17-year-old from Natchez participated in three camps, two of them providing scholarships. The first camp was in Oxford from May 29 to June 4, Mississippi Boys State, which is where a group of rising seniors built a mock government.

“I have no interest in going into politics, but it was a lot of fun,” Harris said. “I also know a kid at every school in the state, so I made endless connections.”

The centerpiece of Boys State is the political simulation, where the students conduct elections from the city level all the way up to the state governor. Harris was elected to the House of Representatives.

“We passed bills and tried to get along,” he said. “When you were trying to get elected, you gave a speech, but the competition was insane. The mayor had a 36 on his ACT, was a National Merit Finalist and an Eagle Scout.”

Harris said one highlight was when the House attempted to impeach the governor because he had won by only a 1-percent margin, and two-thirds of the population did not vote.

“That was a big debacle,” he said. “It stayed in the House, but I got a chance to do a filibuster. I read ‘The Scarlet Letter.’”

For Boys State, Harris received six credit hours and a $1,000 scholarship.

“Sneh (Patel) gave me the idea about going — he went with Adams County Christian School last year,” Harris said. “I’d definitely recommend going.”

The second camp of the summer, which started the Sunday after Boys State concluded, was the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Youth Camp. It was a four-day camp at Hinds Community College aimed at teaching the students about conserving natural resources.

Harris said camp participants went to museums in the Jackson area and had hands-on experiences with different aspects of conservation. They also spent time with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries learning about stream ecology.

The conservation camp provided a $3,000 scholarship.

The next camp of the summer was the Apex Leadership Summit at the University of Mississippi in mid-July. Harris said he participated in the equivalent camp for juniors and decided to go back for his senior year.

Students were grouped into teams of 10 to 15, Harris said. The teams participated in team-building exercises, got to hear speakers and went through the Ole Miss Challenge Course.

Harris said he earned two credit hours at Apex. Harris said he enjoyed all of the camps but Boys State was the most fun, and it was also the longest camp at seven days.

Though he will not be able to play football this year because of an Achilles tendon injury, Harris said he is ready for his senior year.

“I’m just looking forward to the whole experience,” he said. “I’m ready to graduate, ready to get out in the world.”

Harris, the son of Betty Jo Harris and Todd Harris, said he is leaning toward majoring in finance.

“I always wanted to do something with money,” he said. “And I’d rather run the show as a financial manager or wealth management guy, and maybe I’ll get into stocks one day.”

Harris said he hopes to have decided on a college by the fall, though he is leaning toward Ole Miss or Louisiana State University, though he’s also considering the University of Georgia.

“It’s hard to say Ole Miss because I grew up an LSU fan,” he said. “But I got hands-on experience at the campus for two weeks, and it’s a good place.”