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When Matt Sparke was growing up in England he took an exam administered to many 11-year-olds to measure their problem-solving and reasoning skills — basically an intelligence test.

Students seem to respond to environments that are relaxed and open, where they can pitch out ideas without fear that their peers will think less of them, according to Alex Coverdill, doctoral student in biology and one of this year’s Excellence in Teaching Award recipients.

You know you’ve come to a challenging work environment when, shortly after you arrive, resignations leave you with a skeleton staff of strangers and you have to put yourself on the payroll because no one else knows how.

It is rare to meet someone “who truly stands out, who inspires everyone in the room and who challenges others to view the world differently on a daily basis,” wrote Ray Johanson, assistant nurse manager of the Burn and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU), in a letter nominating Marne Faber for a Distinguished Staff Award.

Pam Robenolt doesn’t look much older than the students she supervises, but her quiet knowledge and confidence make clear who’s in charge — and that her students will perform.

Jan Spyridakis, of the College of Engineering’s Department of Technical Communication, is the kind of professor who can inspire students in a spirited discussion of an unlikely topic — syntax and semantics.

While the city of Seattle today enjoys a reputation as a livable,friendly and politically correct metropolis, as recently as 1966 racially segregated schools and neighborhoods were de rigueur.

When Don Wulff was 7 years old, his parents decided he and his two siblings would attend school in town, not the one-room schoolhouse they’d been attending.

Dan Evans came close to becoming the vice president of the United States twice, but luckily for his home state, it didn’t work out either time.

Minh-An Nguyen, 21, majoring in biochemistry and chemistry, has been named a President’s Medalist — the outstanding student to complete at least three-fourths of her education at the UW.

Elise Saba, who will be receiving a bachelor’s degree in English, has been awarded a President’s Medal for scholarship as a transfer student — an award given to a student who entered the UW with at least 60 transfer credits from a Washington community college.