Fox Valley area students named semifinalists for National Achievement Scholarships

Submitted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation

More than 1,600 Black American high school seniors who have been designated Semifinalists in the 49th annual National Achievement Scholarship Program were announced recently by National Merit Scholarship Corporation officials.

Local Semifinalists in the 2013 National Achievement Program include: Jexenia M. Bennett of Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin; Ayun J. Brown, Seneca D. Hutson, Adekore Taiwo, and Matthew P. Williams, all of Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora; Brian M. Franklin and Kayla B. Mann, both of Waubonsie Valley High School; and Emily R. Schooley of Geneva High School.

These scholastically talented young men and women now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 800 Achievement Scholarship awards worth more than $2.5 million that will be offered next spring.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program, conducted by NMSC, is a privately financed academic competition that operates without government assistance. To date, more than 31,900 young men and women have received Achievement Scholarship awards worth more than $100 million.

Semifinalists in the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship Program — More than 160,000 high school juniors from all parts of the United States requested consideration in the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship Program when they took the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Semifinalists are designated within geographic regions.