Kaziah Miller recognized as the winner of the 2015 MLK Service Award at UNCG

I am happy to announce that former East Rutherford Alumni daughter of Terri Crawford Miller, Grandparents the late Major Crawford & Willene Crawford of Gastonia and Charlie & Darlene Miller of Spindale, Kaziah Miller was recognized as the winner of the 2015 MLK Service Award at UNCG. Due to all of her dedication to serving others, she was nominated by the university staff and she actually won. It is a very humble accomplishment and I am so very happy and proud of her. I am glad that her hard work and dedication is being recognized and she hope to inspire others if she have not done so thus far. On Wednesday January 21st, she received the award and made a small speech. Also, she was honored to be able to have dinner with the guest speaker, Sonia Sanchez! God is continuing to bless her each and every day! Also last semester, she had the opportunity to apply to the Cone Health Hospital System’s Nurse Extern Program. This program is designed to have student nurses work under the supervision of a nurse for 7 weeks of the summer for 36-40 hours a week with the salary of a new nurse. Once the program is complete, they sometimes offer a PRN nurse tech position and hire you on as a nurse after graduation. It is a competitive process that you have to go through, and I am glad to announce that she did make it past the first two interviews and she was scheduled for the last interview with the director of the unit that she will be on. So as we celebrated MLK Day and all of his work to help pave the way for us. I received great news that she did get the externship and will be working in the ICU unit for 7 weeks getting valued experience in the medical field this summer! To say being her mother, and being a single mother of three (3) I’m proud of her and all of her accomplishments is an understatement. However, I’m so proud of her and the young woman she is and is becoming and striving to be daily is an understatement! But then to hear her being announced for this special award just made me feel that much more proud of her. You know and see the hard work she’s done and is doing but to hear it was overwhelming to say the least...THE INTRODUCTION: Good evening…It is so nice to see everyone here for a great evening of learning, remembrance, and commitment. It is my pleasure to announce the winner of the 29th MLK Service Award. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Award was established at UNCG in 1986 to honor the memory of the late civil rights leader and one of the strongest examples of humanity, compassion, and strength our nation has given to the world. The annual award is given to one deserving student who exceeded expectations by making outstanding contributions in the area of social justice through service, particularly service to the UNCG community. The winner is selected by a committee of faculty, staff, and students, receives recognition for his or her service, and a $500 scholarship.

The committee had a difficult time selecting the winner this year due to an increase in the number and quality of nominated students. This highlights how many students are using what they learn in and out of the classroom to benefit the greater UNCG community. After the extensive review and selection, it is my pleasure to call to the stage this year’s MLK Service Award winner: Ms. Kaziah Miller. Kaziah, please come to the stage.

While Kaziah makes her way to the stage, let me tell you a little about this outstanding junior Nursing major. Very importantly, she clearly understands the link between academic success and involvement on campus. She has an extraordinary GPA and has been selected to the Dean’s List four semesters in a row. She is a Gates Millennium Scholar, Golden Leaf Scholar, National Society of Collegiate Scholars Scholar, and UNCG Guarantee Scholar and has attended numerous in-state and out-of-state conferences as a result of these awards.

Complimenting her academic success is her extensive co-curricular work. She is Vice President of EBONY, a diverse women’s organization focused on empowering women, having a voice in the community, and building unity and sisterhood with one another. Kaziah has consistently gone beyond expectations for her service projects with EBONY and other organizations. As a member of the Multicultural Nursing Students Association, she was the first freshman to receive the “Extra Service Award”, was the first member to volunteer in the four separate service activities, and won an award for selling the most raffle tickets. Through the Multicultural Nursing Students Association, she has also been able to engage the broader Triad community with food drives and the March for Babies. She was also a mentor for teenage girls at Dudley High School, where she met with and tutored students.

Kaziah has also served her fellow students through the Supplemental Instruction Program, primarily helping with Chemistry 104. One of her nominators mentioned, “Kaziah was always creative during her sessions, which would focus more on empowerment. She utilized several different study methods to reach a variety of students. She wanted to make sure when she was reviewing information that she found techniques that would stick with everyone…”

In Kaziah’s own words, “A leader is not someone who is bossy and tells everyone what to do. A leader is someone who works with their group to get the job done…Everyone can be a leader in any situation, it just takes commitment to step up and take on the job.”