 From Nicolet College, Bess Korn. I'm Miss Bess. I'm a single mom of two, a preschool teacher, full-time college student, and I waitress on the side. This isn't how my speech normally starts, or this is how my speech normally starts, but I'm not here this evening advocating for early education, but for the success of mine and yours at your own education. Now, as nervous as I am standing up here right now, it sure makes me smile seeing all my fellow ambassadors out there celebrating our success. And what a fabulous group we are. Yeah, give yourselves a round of applause. So I want to take a few moments and talk about things that got me here. There's three S's I believe that guided me here today. They are self-confidence, support, and success. The first S, self-confidence. Over the last two years, I have spent many hours working with young children and most recently working with four-year-olds. They have encouraged me to believe in myself, to reach for the stars, and to step out of my comfort zone. Now, I don't know how many of you have attempted papier-mache projects or listened to their honest opinions about what you're doing. But I have realized that I have inspired these little but big brains, and they have given me the courage to say and believe that I can do it and that I am doing it. And what gave you yourself confidence to get here today? Because you all have done it. Second, support. This is a big one. Who supported you to get here today? I know I couldn't have done this without a few people. First and foremost, I'd like to thank my oldest daughter, Kalen. She has been my biggest support in ways that she may never understand. She has also been my encouragement to keep fighting and persevering for a better future when I just wanted to throw in the towel. My next biggest support comes from my own unbiological sister, Trina. She has known what to say when I wanted to throw in the towel. And about a year and a half ago, she told me something. Best? Hips and elbows. Hips and elbows. And that's what I've done. I'm going through it. Hips and elbows. And as we've learned earlier, it also helps us empower us. Next, I can't say enough about Nicolay. From the moment I looked into going to college, I also looked at another college, technical college in my area. And Nikki hooked me up. She was so personable. She made me feel like I'm a person. I'm not a number. She cares about my success. No matter all the struggles that I've gone through in the last two years, they were always there for me. I needed to withdraw from a class. I was there. I learned withdrawing from a class is way better than failing a class, by the way. I should have listened to her in the beginning when she told me, you should just withdraw. Nah, I'm stubborn. Withdraw. Withdraw. My instructors, Diana and Vicki, are top notch. I have been able to go to a national conference for early education. I've sat and listened with PhDs about proper techniques, brain development, all the amazing things that's going on. And I left there, and I'm like, you know, I really didn't learn a whole lot of new material. I learned some new techniques, but the material, I'm like, that's my stuff. That's my stuff. My instructors are teaching me. Like, this is awesome. I'm at a technical college. I was one of those people that thought a technical college, I guess it's a kind of a stepping stone to get up there. Man, am I wrong. I am so wrong. Nicolet and the support that they have given me, I have, when I wanted to throw in the towels, having severe personal struggles, I wanted to turn back to drinking. I wanted to just go to the bar and drink and drink some more. Easier, but I didn't. Because my advisor, my instructors, they believed in me. I couldn't let them down. My daughter, my family, they believed in me. I couldn't let them down. So I kept going, persevering, hips and elbows, hips and elbows. And I'm so glad that I did. I have had such amazing opportunities. And even though, in the, around Christmas time, I will get my associates, I am still continuing on, and Nicolet isn't getting rid of me either. I'm going to be around for a while. And, so I just got off a little tangent. I'm sorry. And last but not least, I can't forget about my mom and my dad. When my dad was in college, he was a single parent working three jobs and going to college full time. And my story is pretty similar. And while my dad made it, and if he can do it, I can do it. So thank you for being my mentor and a big drive in my success. Which brings me to my final success. Without the breakthrough and self-confidence from my four-year-olds I teach to my amazing support system that has been by my side through my journey, they have laid the foundation for my success now and in the future. And as Mr. Rogers said, there's three ultimate ways to succeed in life. First, be kind. Second, be kind. And third, be kind. So what has ignited your self-confidence? Take a moment to reflect on all these people who have helped you, who have guided you, and who has inspired you to be the best that you can be to succeed in your future. I don't know what my future holds for me. I know that I love working with children. I know that I love Nicolet, and I'm finding out that I kind of like politics. So I might dabble in politics a little bit. Help us bring funding for education. How important is education? Thank you.