Emmanuel K. Echem, a senior at LaVergne High School, is the only Rutherford County student to earn a National Achievement scholarship, according to an announcement by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

Only 20 students in the state received a National Achievement Scholarship.

Echem, the son of Sunny and Patience Echem of LaVergne, will receive the Walgreen Co. Scholarship, the announcement states.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program is a privately financed academic competition established in 1964 specifically to honor scholastically talented Black American youth and to provide scholarships to a substantial number of the most outstanding participants in each annual competition, according to the organization.

By the conclusion of the 2012 program, marking the 48th annual competition, about 31,800 participants will have received scholarships for undergraduate study worth more than $100 million. National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, conducts the program.