Breanne Bell, a Brigham Young University student in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education at the McKay School of Education, is the recipient of the 2005 Council for Exceptional Children Outstanding Undergraduate Student Member of the Year Award.
The national award will be presented to Bell on April 7, 2005 at the national CEC convention in Baltimore. Several BYU faculty and students will accompany Bell to the awards ceremony, among them Bell's teacher and nominator, Katie Sampson, an assistant clinical professor at the McKay School of Education.
In addition to the national award, Bell will receive the Jeanette Misaka Student of the Year Award from the Utah chapter of CEC. This award will be presented in St. George during the week of March 7, 2005.
"Bre's desire for life and passion in everything she takes on makes her the type of person who has and will continue to strengthen the field of special education," said Sampson. "She is an excellent example of the type of student we search for to develop the future of special education."
Bell's accomplishments include current service as president of Utah's Student Center for Exceptional Children organization. In 2004 Bell also served as BYU's Student CEC president. Bell is an intern at Vineyard Elementary in the Alpine School District, where she works in an autism kindergarten unit.
The Council for Exceptional Children is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted.
CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides continual professional development, advocates for newly and historically underserved individuals with exceptionalities and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.
For more information please contact Katie Sampson,
katie_sampson@byu.edu, (801) 422-1408.
Writer: Roxanna Johnson
