SIMI VALLEY : Scholarship Winner Wise Beyond Years

Autumn Kerr is not your average 12-year-old.

A Simi Valley honors student who would rather watch the nightly news than “Beavis and Butt-head,” Autumn was recently awarded a $1,000 college scholarship in a statewide academic contest.

The Valley View Junior High School eighth-grader finished first among 35 girls 7 to 12 years old in the California All-American Student contest.

By winning the event earlier this month, Autumn qualifies for a scholastic competition at the national level.

“I didn’t even expect to win,” she said Tuesday, holding a handful of medals and a giant cardboard check. “I said to myself, ‘Even if I don’t get in the top 10, I’ll still be happy for the experience.’ ”

The contest evaluated students on the basis of their academic skills, poise and public speaking. During the three-day competition, students were required to write an essay, take a multiple-choice exam and participate in a series of interviews.

The final stage of competition required a timed response to a question. Autumn was asked, “If you could ask President Clinton to change one thing about our country, what would it be?”

Her response: “The health care system. That really is hard on America today.”

In addition to swimming and playing softball and volleyball, Autumn said she likes to exercise her brain by reading and keeping up with current events.

“I watch the news every night,” she said. “And I like to read the newspaper.”

As for Beavis and Butt-head, she could not care less.