IMSA Seniors Named National Achievement Semifinalists
For Immediate Release, September 2004
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at
(630) 907-5033
AURORA—Three seniors at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) have qualified as semifinalists in the 2005 National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition for African-American high school students.
The students and their former schools are Laura Hawkes of Lisle (Lisle High School), Aaron Hutcherson of Chicago (Barnard Elementary Comp Math & Science Center), and Lynda Ikejimba of Park Forest (Rich East Campus 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 three are among nearly 120,000 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 million dollars will be awarded to selected finalists next spring.
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State of Illinois to develop talent and leadership in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. Nearly 18,000 teachers and 34,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from The Center@IMSA program of professional development and student enrichment. Located in Aurora in the high-tech corridor west of Chicago, IMSA® serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy counsel, action research, and the leadership and achievements of its graduates.