 Hi, my name is Max Gonzalez Burdick and I am the awardee for the Ken Haycock Award for Exceptional Professional Promise in 2023. Firstly, I want to thank Dr. Anthony Chow, Dr. Marianne Harlin, Dr. Mary Bolin, the committee and the entire School of Information faculty for this very special award. I'm so grateful for your continuous support in providing such generous awards for students like myself. To me, the Ken Haycock Award means being a leader in the informational world and taking the initiative in roles that advocate for libraries and information centers. I've demonstrated outstanding leadership through both my education as an excellent 4.0 MLIS graduate student as well as my role as a library branch manager for the Marine Corps Community Services military libraries and as a former block director for the Special Library Association student chapter. In all of these areas, I put into practice everything that I learned in the iSchool program such as implementing new diverse programs at the military libraries as well as managing a library budget and providing management as well as cataloging mark record sets and updating policies with copyright information and of course adding an inclusive collection to our current collection development. I cannot express how amazing the SJSU MLIS program is. I keep encouraging my staff to participate in this amazing program so that they can also learn and get the tools necessary to promote in the library field. What I'm most proud of is that I was able to change my career, go to school and work full-time and still do a phenomenal job with my grades and my work ethic. I moved up fairly quickly in the military base due to my strong work ethic and my caring and professional communicating style. The legacy that I want to leave behind is that of a kind and firm and cool guy that really advocates strongly for information in communities and the ever-growing diverse material that programs and libraries have to offer. This award is really not just for me but to everyone that made it possible for me to learn and become a leader in this world. I'm not done yet though. My dream is to become a library director and lead library services and programs with the military installation. I hope that my story inspires first-generation students, LGBT students, Hispanic students and honestly just anyone who is afraid to make the leap from one career to the other. Thank you all so much for this amazing award.