It was a big night for Stratford Academy senior Zainab Siddiqui.

She was selected as the winner of the prestigious Golden Eagles Award in the English Literature category at the Grand Opera House.

She was one of 11 Stratford students and 170 seniors from 22 high schools in Middle Georgia who were nominated in 12 categories at the 40^th annual Golden Eagles Awards, sponsored by The (Macon) Telegraph.

Siddiqui received a $1,000 scholarship and a trophy. At the end of the ceremony, Siddiqui’s name was drawn from all the nominees. She received a $15,000 “Education Together” scholarship to Mercer University.

Fellow Stratford seniors Sarah Kate Sellers (Music) and Carly Wanna (Journalism) were honorable mention winners and receieved $300 scholarships and a plaque.

Stratford students nominated in the other categories were Megan Wimberly (Art), Monica Montalvo-Perez (Athletics) Meredith Fuchs (Citizenship), Cameron Walsh (Stratford), Tarab Ajjan (Foreign Language), Om Sakhalkar (Math) Anna Katherine Boswell (Science) and Andrew Smolensky (Technology).

Stratford drama teacher Ms. Sylvia Haynie was one of five local teachers presented with “Education Together Teacher Awards.’’ Each teacher received $1,000 to use for educational purposes.

Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell was the keynote speaker. Cantrell was a Golden Eagle winner in Music  as a senior at Mount de Sales in 2012.