CARBONDALE (SIU NEWS) – The newest group of graduates from Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Teacher Education Programs (TEP) will be recognized during a special pinning ceremony at 5 p.m. Dec. 11 at Shryock Auditorium.

About 35 graduate candidates from across campus who are part of TEP, as well as the program at the Rend Lake Marketplace campus, will be honored during this final milestone on their paths to becoming professional educators.

After completing three semesters of practical experience with part-time clinical assignments, the teacher candidates devote their final semester to full-time student teaching, serving in dozens of schools located all over the region. They will receive their pins, marking the end of their SIU undergraduate experiences, from the mentor teachers they served alongside this fall in classrooms. A reception will take place after the ceremony for the teacher candidates, guests, clinical educators and mentor teachers who supervised the SIU students.