Full Video: 2009 Kentucky Duke TIP State Recognition Ceremony for Outstanding 7th Grade Students

For the 27th year, The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University sponsored the Kentucky ceremony for the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) to honor seventh-graders who performed well on tests intended for college-bound high school students, the ACT or SAT.

The ceremony was held on May 29 in WKU’s Diddle Arena. Students  received medals acknowledging their accomplishments.

For the past 26 years, thousands of gifted and talented seventh-graders have traveled to WKU’s campus to be recognized in the Duke TIP Talent Search. This year 1,300 of the 2,870 Kentucky students taking the tests qualified for state recognition. Two Kentucky seventh-graders — Mary N. Lee of Lawrenceburg and Valerie Y. Sarge of Lexington — earned a perfect score on one or more sections of the SAT or ACT.

Scottie-Beth Fleming of Scottsville  keynoted the event. Fleming has had a long and happy relationship with The Center for Gifted Studies, has participated in Super Saturdays, SCATS and VAMPY, and traveled to England, France and Italy with The Center’s travel study program.

She will graduate in December from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta with a degree in aerospace engineering and plans to complete a master’s in the same field. She is participating in her fourth co-op with NASA at the Johnson Space Center.

The Duke TIP Talent Search program is beginning its 29th year and is the largest program of its kind in the nation, representing participation from 6,000 junior high and middle schools in the Duke TIP 16-state region.

More than 1.5 million students have completed the Talent Search since its inception in 1980. The Talent Search identifies academically talented seventh-graders based on standardized test scores achieved while attending elementary or middle school. Candidates are identified and invited to complete either the SAT or the ACT. Duke TIP then provides the participants with comparative information concerning their academic abilities and resources for unique educational opportunities.

For more information about Duke TIP, visit tip.duke.edu/.

For information, contact Gifted Studies at (270) 745-6323.