Local Students Among Semifinalists for National Scholarship

Seniors from Arundel and Meade High School are among those named as semifinalists for their outstanding academic achievement in the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship.

 Adan Rodriguez of Arundel High School, and Phylesia Fralin of Meade High School have been named semifinalists in the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship program. A third county senior, Kameron Beans of Broadneck High School, was also a semifinalist. 

Finalists will be announced in April, according to a release from the Anne Arundel County Public School System (AACPS).

Semifinalists in the competition, which is overseen by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, were selected from more than 160,000 students in nearly 22,000 U.S. high schools who were top scorers on the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in their junior years.

Patch profiled Rodriguez earlier this year after he placed first in the high school contest at the Frederick Film Festival. 

In its 49th award year, the National Achievement Scholarship recognizes high-performing and “academically-promising” African-American students from across the country, according to a release from the school system. To date, more than 31,900 students have received the scholarships worth more than $100 million through the program.

With more than $2.5 million worth of scholarships at stake, about 80 percent of the semifinalists will advance to finalist status based on criteria such as academic record, recommendation by their school principal, SAT performance, and participation and leadership in school and community activities.

Seven hundred National Achievement Scholarships worth $2,500 each will be awarded, and an additional 100 corporate-sponsored Achievement Scholarship awards will also be given to finalists who meet specific criteria set by the sponsor accordingly.

See also:

• Odenton High Schooler Places First in Film Fest