Matthew Burch says he enjoys writing, but never dreamt he'd win an essay contest.

It was his mother who encouraged him to enter the Arlington Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."Advancing the Dream" Essay Writing Competition, which was open to high school seniors. Matthew set aside time from a busy schedule as a member of the student council and varsity football team to put forth his best effort.

"I was surprised," the Sam Houston High School senior said."I never expected to win."

Judges scored his essay highest on creativity, organization and total conformity with the essay theme,"Our Greatness, My service."

This year's theme is derived from Dr. King's famous words:"Anyone can be great because anybody can serve." This is the theme for five days of Arlington community celebrations, which begin Thursday, Jan. 15.

Dr. King said,"You don't have to have a college degree to serve; you don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, and a soul generate by love."

"Everyone has the power for greatness," the 18-year-old wrote in his opening paragraph."Not for fame, but greatness because greatness is determined by service."

The MLK Advancing the Dream Essay Competition, as well as the Art Competition, are both sponsored by Atmos Energy.

Matthew says he will use his $1,000 scholarship to prepare for life after high school. He will graduate in May 2015 and has already applied to the U.S. Naval Academy. He plans to study mechanical engineering.

"I want to say thank you to the Arlington Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee for helping my dreams come true," he said.

Visit www.ArlingtonMLK.com to read his essay in its entirety.