IMSA Seniors Named National Achievement Semifinalists

For Immediate Release, October 2006
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at (630) 907-5033

(Media Advisory: This press release features students from Chicago, East St. Louis, Matteson, Maywood and Riverdale)

IMSA Seniors Named National Achievement Semifinalists

AURORA—Six seniors at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) have qualified as semifinalists in the 2007 National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition for African-American high school students.

The students and their former schools are:

Adedayo Adesokan of Matteson (Rich South Campus High School),  Jorrell Bonner of East St. Louis (East St. Louis Senior High School),  Rhiana Gunn-Wright of Chicago (Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center), Chantel Liggett of Riverdale (Thornton Township High School), Samira Payne of Chicago (Brooks College Preparatory Academy, and Xavier Watson of Maywood (St. Joseph High School).

They are among approximately 1,600 semifinalists now eligible to compete for about 800 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 six students are among nearly 130,000 African-American students nationwide who took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), the test used in the competition. Scholarships worth over $2.5 million dollars will be awarded to selected finalists next spring.

The internationally recognized Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  As a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, IMSA enrolls academically talented Illinois students (grades 10-12) in its advanced, residential college preparatory program, and it serves thousands of educators and students in Illinois and beyond through innovative instructional programs that foster imagination and inquiry. IMSA also advances education through research, groundbreaking ventures and strategic partnerships. (www.imsa.edu)