And the semi-finalists are...

Eleven Wake County students just got closer to claiming a piece of millions of dollars in scholarship money.

Wake County Public School System officials say the students are recongnized as semifinalists in the 45th annual Achievement Scholarship competition. They are among more than 1,600 Black American high school seniors who were recognized nationally.

The Wake County students selected are:
Jacob H. Besigel, Amelia J. Lumpkin and Mariah Moore from Enloe High School
Bianqa D. Bizune and Lariah D. Ijames from Apex High School
Jamine V. Clark and John Fisher from Panther Creek High School
Kelly Wyche of Broughton High
Tiffany Ezuma of Leesville Road High
Kaiya M. Arroyo of Middle Creek High
Derrick E. Smith of Wake Forest-Rolesville High

School system leaders say the students are in the running for about 800 Achievement Scholarship awards worth an estimated total of $2.6 Million. According to the competition’s website, money comes from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation nd independent sponsors that include corporations, company foundations, and professional organizations.

To continue to the finish line, semifinalists must show good academic performance through their high school careers, get an endorsement from the school principal and score high on the SATs. Judges also want to see a scholarship application that shows student participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities and educational goals.

These Wake County students have already come a long way. More than 150,000 high school juniors from across the country entered into the 2009 National Achievement program when they took the 2007 Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.