Seven high school seniors from throughout Alameda County have been selected as the county’s Academic Achievement winners and were honored at a gala dinner in Sacramento.

“We are proud to be honoring these seven students from Alameda County with this first Academic Achievement award created by the Governor and Secretary of Education,” said Alameda County Schools Superintendent Sheila Jordan. “These students represent the best and brightest of Alameda County and we look forward to more great accomplishments from them in the years to come.”

The students were selected based on their grade point average, extracurricular activities and community service. The students are (in alphabetical order by district):

The Academic Achievement award was created by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Secretary of Education Dave Long to recognize the top 177 top academic high school students in California. The students were honored at a gala dinner at the Convention Center in Sacramento on March 11, 2008.

Two of Alameda County's Academic Achievement winners -- Jacqueline Quinn and Jacob Andreas -- were selected to the All-State Academic Team. They are among the 25 students who were selected from a field of 177 county-level winners.

Jacob (GPA: 4.36, Class Rank: 1) is a senior at Piedmont High School. His activities and honors include: San Francisco Bay Area Science Fair grand prize winner, UC Berkeley CONCEPT Material Science lab intern and Mock Trial.

Jacqueline (GPA: 4.31, Class Rank: top 5%) is a senior at Albany High School. Her activities and honors include: National Merit Scholar semifinalist, USA Biology Olympiad semifinalist and varsity cross-country captain.

To view the March 11 celebration in Sacramento, click here.