Concordia University, Nebraska’s Academy for Excellence will host more than 50 academically gifted, middle-school students and their parents on Friday, April 17, for a day-long program and celebration banquet. The event will recognize the students for their achievements and challenge them with a collegiate learning experience. The students, each nominated by a teacher or principal, were selected from private and parochial schools in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota.