SMU honored students with a GPA over 3.75 last night at the 12th-annual Academic Excellence Reception. The event took place in the Hughes-Trigg ballroom.

Various faculty members, including President R. Gerald Turner and Assistant Provost Thomas Tunks, presented awards to dozens of students who performed impressively during spring and fall 2008.

Mark Fontenot, who acts as academic adviser to all declared computer science students in the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, gave a keynote about the importance of learning from mistakes, remaining humble and avoiding collisions with metal poles.

“Seek to understand what you’re learning, seek out an intellectual mentor and teach something to someone”, Fontenot advised. “A college degree is not an end; it’s a beginning.”

Of the awarded students, 15 managed to achieve a 4.0 GPA.

Ann Shattles, assistant director for the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center, took the podium after the award distribution. She encouraged students to “consider being a tutor”, particularly for the A-LEC, to “try something different” like SMU at Taos, and continue to give the school their excellent academic qualities.

Shattles also asked students to leave their tips for future first-year students on small forms left on the tables. These suggestions for success will be published in SMU’s first-year guide for incoming students.