 Each year, the MLK Day Planning Committee accepts nominations for the Keeper of the Dream Award. This award is given to an employee or friend of the school who, during their service to the institution and school community, has facilitated positive race relations or exhibited leadership in advancing mutual respect, understanding, and appreciation for cultural and ethnic diversity, or encouraged and engaged in off-campus outreach activities and exemplified compassion, goodwill, courage, or leadership. This year, we were excited to receive great nominations from students, faculty, and alumni, and we are excited to acknowledge two individuals who have done all of this and more. As our first recipient, we are excited to recognize Ms. Micah Pace for her outstanding efforts to the NCS Academy. Ms. Pace is a research associate in the Office of Research and Evaluation. She is always willing to give her time, talent, and treasure to NCS-SM to make it a better place for faculty and staff. In her time at NCS-SM, she has sponsored a number of clubs and activities and helped coordinate Africa Fest and served on the planning team for the summer leadership program. In addition, Ms. Pace has served and continues to serve on numerous committees playing an instrumental role in the NCS-SM advising pilot from 2014 through 2017, where she helped to develop a Canvas course for advisors and offered up her experience with goal-setting and leadership capacities. She also serves on the Campus, Climate, Culture, and Diversity Committee, where she makes valuable contributions to the larger committee and through assessment efforts tied to diversity. Dean of Distance Education, Dr. Jamie Lathen shared, rare are the moments when I walk by Ms. Pace's office and she's not mentoring or advising one to three students. She cares deeply for all students here at NCS-SM. She embraces her role as a second mother for the many NCS-SM residential students who are far away from home for the first time. She ensures that students feel welcomed, valued, and supported at NCS-SM. Many alumni credit Ms. Pace as one of the reasons that they graduated from NCS-SM. Alumni, Godgive, Mozerike shared while looking back at my time, she shared while looking back at my time at NCS-SM, I have fond memories of the time shared and the lifelong relationships that I have built. And I noticed that most of the time, while reminiscing, there is one individual that's always present, an extraordinary woman that pushed me into becoming the accepting and empowered woman that I am striving to become, Ms. Pace. Ms. Pace went well beyond the duties of an academic advisor for me. She was and still is a mentor, providing me with advice and tips in my transition to womanhood and accepting myself. She is a friend, sharing her infectious laughter. She is a mother, comforting and encouraging me in times that I would fall down and become very negative. She has truly been a positive influence within my life. And if not for someone like her, and people like her in my own life, I don't think I would be the person I am today. I would not be as empowered or self-accepting. I would not be as conscious of the negative effects of certain actions of those around me. Ms. Pace has acted as an agent in my own personal growth and there's truly no amount of words that I can say to express my gratitude for her. I love Ms. Pace, not only as my academic advisor, but as someone I know I can continue to rely on and strengthen our relationship even after leaving NCSSM. That's just how much of an impact she's had on my life. I believe for every person that Ms. Pace has come in contact with, she has gone well beyond what was expected. She has time and time again shown an unselfish devotion to ensuring that not only her advisees, but other faculty and students and staff believe that they as individuals matter, and if we could not see that, she would surely make it known. Overall, Ms. Pace strives to ensure that NCSSM does right by all the students that we serve or could potentially serve. She personally connects with incoming NCSSM students in the bridge and leadership programs. She travels with the bridge students on their annual DC trip, and she leads and participates in multiple enrichment sessions during the leadership program. Additionally, she is instrumental in the evaluation of the effectiveness of both programs on student outcomes and retention. For the summer ventures program, a state-funded four-week program for academically talented North Carolina students, which is administered out of the NCSSM Deep Division, Ms. Pace is a strong advocate for broadening access to as many students as possible. Specifically, she has led efforts to increase the recruitment of diverse and underrepresented students into the program. In all of her work as a research associate, Ms. Pace brings a lens of equity and social justice to important research questions that inform policy and practice at NCSSM. She is truly committed to doing her part to uncover ways we can continually learn and grow as an institution, and to ensure that each and every student succeeds. Please join us in recognizing a true keeper of the dream, Ms. Mica Pace. Thank you.