A total of seven seniors from Fayette County, Starr’s Mill, Whitewater and Sandy Creek High schools have been named 2012 National Achievement Semifinalists in the National Achievement Scholarship Program.

Nicholas Britt, Fayette County High; Elizabeth Johnson-Wilson, Starr’s Mill High; Matthew Thomas, Whitewater High; and Andre Allen, Dara Carter, Austin Knight-Scott, and Joseph Verdun, all of Sandy Creek High, are among the 1,600 Black American high school seniors nationwide who were selected as semifinalists in the 48th annual scholarship program.

To advance to the finalist level, semifinalists must present a record of high academic performance throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, earn SAT scores that confirm the PSAT/NMSQT performance, and write an essay. The semifinalist and a school official must also complete a scholarship application in which they provide information about the student’s participation in school, and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities and educational goals.

Approximately 1,300 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level in the 2012 program. Every finalist will compete for one of 700 one-time National Achievement $2,500 scholarships as well as 100 Achievement Scholarship awards underwritten by corporate and business sponsors for those who meet criteria set by the grantor.