RIDGECREST — J’Lon Prosser, a junior at Concordia Parish Academy of Math Science and Technology, said his future was undecided until last summer when an engineering camp at Purdue University in Indiana helped him decide.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I decided to test out engineering,” Prosser said. “I wanted to see what was so important about it and I heard success stories that other people had with it.”

In July, Prosser said he and one of his classmates traveled to the camp and spent a week studying 12 different kinds of engineering, one of which caught his attention.

“We built different things,” Prosser said “and even made a ‘Dance Dance Revolution’ mat and programed it. We made different switches for your feet from scratch, using cardboard, electrical tape and wire. We made different contraptions to solve world problems — a prosthetic leg and water filters. The prosthetic leg was the most interesting thing for me. It made me want to participate.”

Prosser said after conversations he shared with students on campus, he decided he would study biomedical engineering at Louisiana Tech University.

“When I interacted with college students on campus, they told me more about it and told me how important it is,” Prosser said. “At first, I thought engineering was just one thing — building things. I didn’t know it was spread out into so many different categories.”

Prosser said his favorite part of the trip, however, was making connections with people instead of parts.

“I enjoyed meeting new friends from all over the country,” he said. “I’ve made friends in Chicago, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas.”

Prosser is the head drum major in the Ferriday High School band and the junior class vice president at CPA.

He is also a member of the National Beta Club, 4H club and the Student Advisory Council and enjoys spending time with friends and family and playing baritone.

He is the son of Kenneth Prosser Sr. and Keisha Prosser.