2005 Breathwaite Student Leadership Award winners.

Members Sara Cassata, Selamawit Tadesse Deribe, Kristy Nelson, and Ann Behounek have been honored as the 2005 recipients of ACEI's Elizabeth Breathwaite Student Leadership Award. This award recognizes outstanding student members who have shown achievement in academics, leadership, school and community involvement, and service to ACEI. In addition to a $300 scholarship to help defray the cost of attending ACEI's 2005 Annual Conference, each student received a complimentary conference registration.

Ann Behounek (Metropolitan State College, Littleton, CO) is a senior earning her B.A. in behavioral science and licensure in early childhood education. Behounek has been a member of the ACEI Metro Branch for two years, serving as secretary (2003-2004) and as president (2004-2005), all while maintaining a 3.7 GPA and working full-time. Her knowledge, skills, and abilities working with young children in a variety of settings have been called exceptional.

Behounek's inspiration to teach comes from a life-changing experience. We all remember the Columbine massacre in 1999 at Columbine High School. Ann was a student there at the time. She was a witness to the killing of 14 students and one teacher by two of their classmates. To this day, Ann says that she never enters a room without seeing if there is an exit. But out of tragedy came a commitment to make a difference in the lives of children; to help teach tolerance; and to be a support system to those children who feel they do not have a safety net.

Sara Cassata (Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL) is a junior majoring in elementary education. She has received several university honors and is a member of Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society for Education. Cassata, who has served as EIU ACEI Secretary, is the curent Branch president.

Cassata is constantly seeking professional growth, consistently desiring to learn more and to participate in all aspects of her academic life. As fundraising Chair for the ACEI EIU Branch, she organized, managed, and conducted the week-long Scholastic Book Sale, a major Branch fundraiser. Money raised from the book sale helped pay for Week of the Classroom Teacher activities, supplies for ACEI mini-courses at Jefferson School, and financial support to the EIU ACEI officers who attended the ACEI Conference in New Orleans.

Kristy Nelson (Florida Gulf Coast University, Cape Coral FL), a senior majoring in Elementary Education, has been instrumental in developing the new ACEI Student Branch at FGCU. Her diligent leadership and enthusiastic networking skills as President have contributed to the growth of the new student Branch. Due to her efforts, Eagles Educate/ACEI Student Branch has grown, and in February 2005, they successfully hosted the Florida ACEI Conference.

Nelson has made presentations and participated in sessions during the 2004 and 2005 Conferences. Recently, her interest in and sensitivity to the issues of diversity was demonstrated in her classroom project, Mexican Children in American Schools. The project became an award-winning presentation at the Research Day at her university.

Selamawit Tadesse Deribe (University at Buffalo, SUNY, NY) has come to the United States from Ethiopia to earn her doctorate in early childhood education. Tadesse, who has been called a "leader's leader among professionals in the child care profession," works at the Early Childhood Research Center designing and implementing developmentally appropriate learning experiences for young children. Before coming to the U.S., she worked with children in Ethiopia, with such groups as Save the Children and Facilitators for Change. Her commitment to early childhood issues in both her native country and worldwide can be witnessed by her leadership roles to advocate for young children and teachers. Currently, she has a key role in a USAID project that is designed to enhance early education in Ethiopia through technology.

Since joining ACEI, Tadesse has made several presentations about early education and challenges to education in her homeland. She has been extremely instrumental in the establishment of the ACEI Ethiopian Branch.