IMSA Seniors Named National Achievement Semifinalists

For Immediate Release, September 1998
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at (630) 907-5033

AURORA-- Seven seniors at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) have qualified as semifinalists in the 1999 National Achievement Scholarship Program for Outstanding Negro Students.

The students and their former schools include Abidemi Adeboje of Dolton (Thornridge High School), Angel Anderson of Glen Ellyn (Glenbard East High School), Natasha Hill of Hawthorn Woods (Stevenson High School), Michael Okoye of Naperville (Aurora Christian Schools Inc.), Kenyatta Ruffin of Maywood (St. Joseph High School), Antonia Sargeant of Carol Stream (Glenbard North High School) and Jason Wiley of Calumet City (Thornton Fractional North High School).

They are among approximately 1,500 semifinalists now eligible to compete for 800 achievement scholarships. The program, conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, is supported by corporate organizations, company foundations, higher education institutions, and NMSC’s own funds.

These seven are among nearly 100,000 African-American students nationwide who took the 1997 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), the test used in the competition. Scholarships worth about $3 million dollars will be awarded to selected finalists next spring.

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.