West Jessamine Middle School student Rochelle Perez recently won second-place in the seventh-grade division poetry contest after writing a poem which was originally part of her classwork at the local middle school.

Perez said she has been interested in writing since elementary school and plans to pursue a career in the medical field as a doctor while also keeping her dream alive to someday become an author.

“I’m really happy to have placed well in the contest and want to tell others that they can really do whatever they set their mind to,” Perez said.