Broken Arrow High School seniors Anna Bennett and Jill Graves have been selected as recipients of the prestigious Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Academic All-State Scholar Award.

Graves and Bennett, who are also National Merit Finalists, are among 100 high school seniors enrolled in Oklahoma public school districts selected to receive this award.

Each of the 2010 Academic All-Staters will receive a $1000 scholarship and medallion. The All-Staters will be recognized at an awards banquet May 22 at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel.

“This is an esteemed academic selection process, and both Anna and Jill are certainly worthy of this level of acclaim,” Broken Arrow High School Principal, Rob Armstrong said.

University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren is Chairman and founder of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.  He describes the selection of the scholars as “Oklahoma most rigorous academic competition.”

It is difficult to argue with that assessment given that the average ACT score among the 2010 Academic All-State selections  is 33 (with six of the students earning a perfect score of 36).

To be nominated for Academic All-State, a student must meet one of the following criteria:  an ACT composite score of at least 30, an SAT score of at least 1340, or be selected as a semifinalist for a National Merit, National Achievement, or National Hispanic Scholarship.

Eligible students are nominated by their principal and are selected on the basis of academic achievement, extracurricular activities, community involvements, and also on the basis of an essay submitted by each nominee.

“Broken Arrow High School is very proud to have two members of the 2010 Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Academic All-State team,” Armstrong said.

Bennett is the daughter of Reid and Kren Bennett. She plans to attend the University of Tulsa and major in Film Studies

Graves is the daughter of David Graves and Karen Janes.  She plans to attend the University of Tulsa and double major in Biology and Art.