IMSA NAMES 35 NATIONAL MERIT® SEMIFINALISTS
For Immediate Release, Press Release
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at
(630) 907-5033
SEPTEMBER 2006
AURORA-The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) recently recognized its 35 semifinalists in the 2007 National Merit® Scholarship Program.
The semifinalists represent 23 communities and 30 schools throughout Illinois. Local-area recipients include:
| Hometown | Last | First | School | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algonquin | Geiger | Theresa | DUNDEE-CROWN HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Arlington Heights | Kuznetsov | Elizabeth | PROSPECT HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Aurora | Liu | Tony | WAUBONSIE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Aurora | Mutha | Heena | STILL MIDDLE SCHOOL | 2006 |
| Batavia | Thompson | Lisa | BATAVIA SR HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Bolingbrook | Zhan | Jennifer | JANE ADDAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL | 2006 |
| Buffalo Grove | Huang | Kathy | DANIEL WRIGHT JR HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Buffalo Grove | Jiang | Lynn | ADLAI E STEVENSON HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Buffalo Grove | Zhang | Fan | ADLAI E STEVENSON HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Burr Ridge | Zhu | Lilly | LYONS TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL NORTH CAMPUS | 2007 |
| Charleston | Liu | Annie | CHARLESTON HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Darien | Kaenkumchorn | Tanyaporn | LAKEVIEW JR HIGHSCHOOL | 2006 |
| Decatur | Lee | Joshua | WARRENSBURG-LATHAM HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Dunlap | Chang | Stephanie | DUNLAP HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Green Oaks | Warrior | Krishnan | LIBERTYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Hinsdale | Moryl | Luke | HINSDALE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| LaGrange | Powers | Scott | HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Naperville | Chang | Kevin | AVERY COONLEY SCHOOL | 2006 |
| Naperville | Joshi | Nisha | STILL MIDDLE SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Naperville | Lu | Yi | NAPERVILLE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Naperville | Mirski | Sean | AVERY COONLEY SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Naperville | Pierson | Nathan | GORDON GREGORY MIDDLE SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Naperville | Rodrigues | Benjamin | WAUBONSIE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Naperville | Xu | Nora | NAPERVILLE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Oak Park | Schoedel | Kathryn | OAK PARK & RIVER FOREST HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Palatine | Levey | Jennifer | QUEST ACADEMY | 2007 |
| Palatine | Tao | Kevin | PALATINE HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Peoria | Dhapodkar | Nirbhay | WASHINGTON GIFTED SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Peoria | Kim | Claire | WASHINGTON GIFTED SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Peotone | March | Edmund | PEOTONE HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Riverwoods | Hsu | Joseph | DEERFIELD HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Rockford | Herdeman | Claire | BOYLAN CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| St Charles | Dittmer | Susan | ST CHARLES NORTH HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Sycamore | Gupta | Namita | DE KALB HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
| Westmont | Chen | Chaoran | HINSDALE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL | 2007 |
More than 1.4 million seniors in more than 21,000 U.S. high schools entered the year 2007 competition by taking the qualifying exam in 2005 (their junior year). National semifinalists include less than one percent of each state's seniors.
Semifinalists from throughout the nation will now try to advance to the finalist level of the competition. Approximately 8,200 finalists eventually will receive merit scholarships for college undergraduate study. Merit scholars will be announced in the spring of 2007.
IMSA President Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall noted that credit for the students' achievements should be shared. "Their outstanding performance is a tribute to the students themselves, as well as their families, home schools, and IMSA faculty and staff," she said.
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. It also serves thousands of educators and students in Illinois and beyond through innovative instructional programs that foster imagination and inquiry. (www.imsa.edu)