IMSA Seniors Named National Hispanic Scholar Finalists

For Immediate Release, October 1999
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at (630) 907-5033

AURORA-- Two seniors at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) have qualified as scholar finalists in the National Hispanic Recognition Program.

The students and their former schools include Stacey Cruz of  Burbank (Reavis High School) and Viviana Martinez of Elgin (Larkin High School).

The National Hispanic Recognition Program is a College Board program that provides national recognition of the exceptional academic achievements of Hispanic high school seniors, and identifies academically well-prepared Hispanic high school seniors for postsecondary institutions.

These two are among more than 160,000 Hispanic students nationwide who took the 1998 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), the test used in the competition.   The 4,000 highest scoring students are identified as semifinalists.  Based on further evidence of  their academic achievement, a select group of 3,000 students are recognized as program finalists.

Located in Aurora, Illinois, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State to develop talent and stimulate excellence in teaching and learning in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. More than 14,000 teachers and 20,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from IMSA's professional development and enrichment programs. IMSA serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy leadership and action research.