Ashley Kippins

February 11, 2009 - Shaker High senior Ashley Kippins has been named a finalist in the 2009 National Achievement Scholarship Program.

Kippins is one of approximately 1,300 students to advance this far in the program, which honors outstanding achievement among African-American high school students. She was previously named a semifinalist for scoring in the top 2 percent of more than 140,000 African-American students who asked to be considered for the program when they took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp., which administers the program.

Later this year, about 800 finalists will be named National Achievement Scholars, meaning they will receive a $2,500 National Achievement scholarship and be eligible for various corporate scholarships. The scholarships are awarded on a regional basis.

On behalf of the North Colonie community, congratulations to Ashley and her family for this national recognition of her scholastic achievement.