IMSA Seniors Named National Achievement Semifinalists
For Immediate Release, October 2002
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(630) 907-5033
(Media Advisory: This press release features students from Chicago, Oak Park, Naperville, Mundelein and Kankakee)
AURORA-- Five seniors at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) have qualified as semifinalists in the 2003 National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition for Black American high school students.The students and their former schools include Oyinlolu Adeyanju of Oak Park (Oak Park River Forest High School), Frederick Hines of Naperville (Gregory Gordon Middle School in Naperville), Gabriella Ode of Mundelein (Carl Sandberg Middle School in Mundelein), Courtney Thompson of Kankakee (Kankakee Junior Middle School), and Beckie Williams of Chicago (Von Steuben Metro Science Center in Chicago).
They are among approximately 1,500 semifinalists now eligible to compete for about 775 achievement scholarships. The program, conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, is supported by corporate organizations, professional associations, higher education institutions, and NMSC's own funds.
These five are among nearly 115,000 African-American students nationwide who took the 2001 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), the test used in the competition. Scholarships worth about $2.7 million dollars will be awarded to selected finalists next spring.
Located in Aurora, IMSA is a learning enterprise that builds the capacity of students, teachers and policymakers to improve and transform mathematics and science teaching and learning. IMSA's residential educational program serves Illinois students (grades 10-12) talented in mathematics and science; its professional development Center serves schools, educational systems, teachers and students in Illinois and beyond.