Fifteen seniors have been named semifinalists in the 38th annual National Achievement Scholarship Program for outstanding African American students.

They are among some 1,500 semifinalists-including 63 from Maryland-selected nationwide from more than 110,000 African American students for their high scores on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The program is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The semifinalists include two students each from Montgomery Blair, Col. Zadok Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Walt Whitman and Watkins Mill high schools, and one each from Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Albert Einstein, Seneca Valley, Sherwood and Thomas S. Wootton high schools.

About 1,200 semifinalists are expected to achieve finalist standing and compete for more than 700 Achievement Scholarship awards to be offered in 2002. These include 450 National Achievement $2,500 scholarships, awarded on a regional basis. Corporations, foundations and professional associations will finance about 160 scholarships for finalists who meet the sponsor's preferential criteria. Colleges and universities are expected to provide an additional 100 awards for finalists who plan to attend the sponsoring institutions.

For the 2000-2001 school year, eight MCPS seniors won $2,500 National Achievement Scholarships and two won college-sponsored awards.
Winners of both National Achievement $2,000 Scholarships and corporate-sponsored awards will be announced in late March 2002. Recipients of college-sponsored scholarships will be announced in June.

Semifinalists are:

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School: Regina C. Joice
Montgomery Blair High School: Timothy M. Pittman, Christian M. Rwakazina
Albert Einstein High School: Kenneth A. Alston
Col. Zadok Magruder High School: Nanyamka Springer, Glyn A. Sweets
Richard Montgomery High School: Cynthia A. Davies-Venn, Kerri R. Nelson
Seneca Valley High School: Michael E. Clarke
Sherwood High School: Noel L. Campbell
Watkins Mill High School: Ashley N. Gaither, Matthew T. Smith
Walt Whitman High School: Ellen A. Dabela, Sarah M. Talkovsky
Thomas S. Wootton High School: Matthew H. Watkins