Six special education majors and one communication disorders major have the privilege of travelling to the National Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference in Washington, D.C. this coming spring.

On April 25-28, the seven students will attend the three-day conference put on by the CEC. The event will offer the students a chance to network with professionals working with children with exceptionalities and their families.

Education professors Matt Johnson and Mark Hallenbeck will accompany the students on their trip.

"We just have a ton of fun," Johnson said. "We go there and there's nationally-known recognized speakers that speak on literally hundreds of different topics related to disabilities."

Johnson is also the advisor for the Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC) at Augustana.

Those attending the conference will be other professors and students.

Johnson said a majority of the attendees are current special education teachers in the K-12 system.

This will give the students, especially seniors, a chance to network with those who may be influential in upcoming job searches.

Currently, the students are busy working on fundraisers to help pay for the trip.

On Saturday, Feb. 12, the students did a babysitting fundraiser to help collect money. Parents were requested to drop off their kids Saturday night and the money collected consisted of a free-will donation.

Johnson says after raising $415, they are considering doing another similar fundraiser in March.

"Any money that we can raise will certainly help," said Johnson. "So hopefully we'll do it again."

The SCEC also receives money from the state CEC and a fund at Augustana.

At the conference, the students will be able to attend particular sessions pertaining to what they want to learn about.

Johnson said each session is roughly an hour long. If one person has a particular interest in autism they can attend all sessions presented specifically about autism.

"The presentations can be a research-based, or could be an actual teacher that's just presenting different strategies in working with autism," said Johnson.

Junior special education major Jaci Mowinkel is one of the students that will be attending the conference.

"I am really excited to be part of such a wonderful pre-professional organization that takes us to a conference to hear and see the new techniques and advancements in teaching special education," said Mowinkel. "Plus, we will be in the nation's capital!"

Mowinkel is also co-president of the SCEC at Augustana.

The SCEC at Augustana is part of the national Council for Exceptional Children organization and focuses on working with individuals of all ages with special needs.

Senior Amber Mollet is another student attending the conference. She also is a special education major.

"The thing I am most excited about is going out there with our group," Mollet said. "It's going to be an experience of a lifetime because we will see the top speakers and experts in the special education field and meet other special education majors from across the country."

This year's conference also consists of an expo containing different companies that make materials for classrooms. Students will be able to attend the expo at any time throughout the conference and gather handouts and other free classroom tools that will benefit them in the future.

Aside from the conference, students will have some time for relaxation and activities on their trip.

"One of the nights, we've made it kind of a tradition where we take all the students on the trip out for dinner and the SCEC pays," Johnson said.