FERRIDAY — She has the 4.0 GPA. She has her college picked out. Kierstin Carr-Burns is ready to go.

But the Ferriday High School senior says she has a little more to do before she heads to college.

“Graduation is coming, prom is coming,” Carr-Burns said. “I’m just trying to make the best of it.”

One of those final acts, she said, is vying for student of the year.

Each year a student is chosen from each high school in the Concordia Parish School District and interviews to become the district student of the year.

Carr-Burns was chosen just before Christmas break as Ferriday High School’s student of the year, but Carr-Burns said she wants the district title, too.

“Anything that will make me look better on my college application,” she said. “I want it.”

Carr-Burns hopes to attend Southern University and A&M in Baton Rouge this fall, where she plans to major in biology.

“When I was in kindergarten, they had us draw a picture of what I wanted to be when I grew up,” she said. “I drew a doctor. I didn’t know what kind then, but I’ve always wanted to be a doctor.”

Part of her wish to become a physician stems from her love of caring for others.

“If I had a choice between taking care of others and taking care of myself,” she said. “I’d choose others. I’ve always been that way.”

Perhaps, she said, this love of caring for others comes from being the eldest child in her family.

Carr-Burns has two younger sisters, Brooke, 9, and Skylar, 12, and a younger brother, Justin, 15.

All of them, she said, are smart and capable students who she believes will go far.

“I hope my brother and sisters achieve more than I did,” she said. “I hope they take it to the next level.”

Around seventh grade, Carr-Burns said she discovered the specialization for her: obstetrics and gynecology.

“I love babies,” she said. ”I just really feel like it is in my heart to be a doctor.”

Working as an OB/GYN, she said, will allow her to fulfill her love of children and helping others as well as her passion for science and math.

Carr-Burns said she is well aware that the road to becoming a physician is long and arduous, but Carr-Burns said she is ready for the challenge.

“It’s a lot of work, but I’m used to that,” she said. “I think, at the end, it’ll be worth it.”

Carr-Burns drive to succeed, she said, comes from her mother.

“If I came home with anything less than an ‘A,’ it was no good,” she said. “She knows what I can do.”

Carr-Burns’ mother, Kimberly Carr, will also be celebrating two graduations this May: Kierstin’s and her own.

“My mom is actually getting her degree, too,” Carr-Burns said. “I’m really excited for her; I just hope it’s not on the same day.”

Kimberly Carr will be receiving her associate’s degree after two years of courses, Carr-Burns said.

Carr-Burns said though she is nervous to move to Baton Rouge, she knows her mother will continue to drive her younger siblings to success.

“I know they will do so well,” she said. “I’m going to make sure they do.”