Austin Community College (ACC) and the Austin Independent School District (AISD) will host the third annual Vision + Voice award reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 16, at Eastview Campus, Room 8500 (3401 Webberville Rd.).

The evening of poetry and art celebrates the works of students who participated in this year’s Vision + Voice poetry contest. Award-winning author and poet Liz Garton Scanlon will serve as emcee. Other speakers include Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC president and CEO, Gregorio Casar, Austin city councilmember, and Dr. Lisa Goodnow, AISD Executive Director of Academics and Social Emotional Learning.

“The arts are important factors in student success and retention, and this event is a great opportunity to publicly celebrate the students,” says Matthew Daude Laurents, ACC dean of Arts, Digital Media, and Communication. “Our goal is to honor and encourage their creative expression. The students feel like super-stars.”

The event is free and open to the public.

More than 600 AISD students in grades K-12 submitted poems. A panel of published poets selected one winning poem and up to two honorable mentions per grade level. The winning poems are paired with an ACC student’s artwork and created into posters to be displayed around Austin. The winning works and honorable mentions also will be published in an anthology and on Voiceprint, AISD’s digital press.

Visit the Voiceprint website to RSVP or read the winning poems. For more information contact Polly Monear at 512-223-3352 or [email protected].