WHAT: The University of Iowa College of Education's Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development will celebrate hundreds of outstanding fourth- through twelfth-grade students and the teachers who inspired them at its annual recognition ceremony.

New this year will be a showcase highlighting the many programs and activities the Belin-Blank Center offers as well as a chance to meet Herky.

WHEN: The showcase will take place Sunday, Oct. 5, from 8 to 9:45 a.m., and the recognition ceremony follows at 10:30 a.m. Both events are by invitation only, but media representatives are invited to attend.

WHERE: The event will take place in the Second Floor Ballroom at the Iowa Memorial Union on the UI campus.

WHO: Students from across Iowa and the nation were invited to be recognized by the center for exceptional performance in the Belin-Blank Center student talent search, for receiving scholarships for Belin-Blank Center summer residential gifted programs, for being meritorious awardees at the 2014 Invent Iowa State Invention Convention, for being gold key awardees from the 2014 Scholastics Art and Writing program, for being a student research presenters at the 2014 Iowa Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, or for participating in the 2014 Secondary Student Training Program.

Recognized students were given the opportunity to honor a teacher they credited for having a profound influence on their lives. Twenty-eight UI graduates are among those honored teachers. They include the following, with school and hometown indicated:

• Carisa Danielson, Ames Middle School, Ames
• Elise Wright, Fellows Elementary School, Ames
• Lori Danker, Prairie High School, Cedar Rapids
• Mark Norton, Northwest Jr. High School, Coralville
• Mandy Sotillo, Northwest Jr. High School, Coralville
• Lisa Sarvestaney, North High School, Davenport
• Staci Mercado, Central High School, De Witt
• Scott Schoneberg, Des Moines Central Campus High School, Des Moines
• Nadine Weirather, Central Lee Middle School, Donnellson
• Teresa Caldwell, John Kennedy Elementary School, Dubuque
• Anna Basile, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City
• Jan Bohnsack, Ernest Horn Elementary School, Iowa City
• Mike Merulla, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City
• Curt Ritter, Lincoln Elementary School, Iowa City
• Margaret Shullaw, West Senior High School, Iowa City
• Jayme Skay, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City
• Kathy Tener, Retired, Johnston
• Jennifer Brase, Oak Ridge School, Marion
• Elizabeth Wold, Maquoketa Middle School, Maquoketa
• Lori Baker, Retired, Muscatine
• Stacy Emrich, Central Middle School, Muscatine
• Ted Lepic, North Central Jr. High School, North Liberty
• Alisa Meggitt, North Central Jr. High School, North Liberty
• Doyle Massey, West High School, Sioux City
• Kelly Gipple, St. Pius X School, Urbandale
• Paige Thiner, Des Moines Christian Schools, Urbandale
• Karen Downing, Valley High School, West Des Moines
• Stephanie Larson, St. Francis of Assisi School, West Des Moines

BACKGROUND:

“The ceremony is a wonderful opportunity to recognize some truly outstanding young students who have participated in Belin-Blank Center programs. These students also have an opportunity to acknowledge a teacher who has made a profound difference in their lives,” says Jan Warren, Belin-Blank Center administrator for student programs. “Sunday’s ceremony will showcase some of the very best students and teachers from across Iowa and the country.”

This year’s ceremony will also honor Iowa schools ranked among the Top 25 of the Iowa AP Index. The index rating was calculated by dividing the number of AP exams taken by the number of students in the school’s graduating class.

The Belin-Blank Center is part of the UI College of Education. For more information about the ceremony, contact Jan Warren at jan-warren@uiowa.edu.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend the ceremony, contact Rachelle Blackwell in advance at rachelle-blackwell@uiowa.edu or 319-335-6148.