Local students receive Achievement Scholarship awards

Two Rainbow City teens are among Twenty black high school seniors in Alabama who won Achievement Scholarship® awards W

ednesday.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of the minority students who combined to receive more than $2 million in scholarships financed by grants from 30 corporate organizations and professional associations, as well as the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Achievement Scholar Finalists are minority students judged to have the strongest record of accomplishments and greatest potential for academic success in college.

About 150,000 minority students entered the 2015 National Achievement Scholarship Program by requesting consideration in the competition when they took the 2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as high school juniors. In September, about 1,600 of the highest scorers were named semifinalists on a regional representation basis.

To continue in the competition, semifinalists had to fulfill requirements for finalist standing. This included having a record of consistently high academic performance; being endorsed and recommended by an official from their high school; earning SAT® scores that confirmed their performance; and writing an essay.

Area students who were named winners of Alabama's 2015 National Achievement $2500 Scholarship s included

Elizabeth M. Williams from Westbrook Christian School in Rainbow City; Probable career field: medical research.

Kasoorelope Y. Oguntuyo Rainbow City, Gadsden City High School; Probable career field: biomedical engineering.