Emilio Cunningham, a senior at Redmond High School, is one of 1,600 black high school seniors designated as a semifinalist in the 50th annual National Achievement Scholarship program.

These awards are a program of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Cunningham now has an opportunity to continue in the competition for one of approximately 800 Achievement Scholarship awards worth about $2.5 million that will be offered next spring. To be eligible for a National Achievement Scholarship, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program is a privately financed academic competition established in 1964 to recognize academically promising black students through the nation and to provide scholarships to a substantial number of the most outstanding program participants. To date, about 32,700 young men and women have received Achievement Scholarship awards worth about $103 million.