Lady Indian Awarded Scholarship from National Competition

Charis A. Spears, a student, has been selected as one of 800 black American high school seniors to receive an achievement scholarship through the National Achievement Scholarship Program.

The award money totals $2 million, which is financed by grants from about 30 corporate organizations and professional associations, as well as the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, according to a news release sent out Wednesday.

Established in 1964, the scholarship program is an academic competition that honors academically talented black American students, the release says.

Spears, which has medicine listed as her probable career choice, is one of 700 of the winners to receive a $2,500 scholarship.  The remaining 100 are candidates for other scholarships. 

More than 160,000 students entered themselves in this year’s competition by requesting consideration on the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test during their junior year.

In September 2010, approximately 1,600 of the highest scorers were named as semifinalists on regional levels, the release says. To continue in the competition, students had to show a record of consistently high academic performance, be endorsed and recommended by an official from their high schools, earn a high SAT score, and write an essay.

There were 1,300 finalists, then 800 selected for a scholarship.

“Achievement scholar awardees are the finalist candidates judged to have the strongest record of accomplishments and greatest potential for academic success in college,” the release says.