The Omicron Delta Kappa Key Fund has been created to support scholarships and the gift of membership for students from underrepresented and historically marginalized racial and ethnic minority groups. The Key Fund also supports the Society’s diversity, equity, and inclusivity leadership development programming.
Destiny Gibbs (Lincoln Memorial University, 2021)
Destiny Gibbs received the gift of membership in 2021 when she was initiated into the Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Circle. Destiny has a work-study position and shares her earnings with her family as an undergraduate student. She is also a first-generation college student from a rural community outside Atlanta.
Destiny is a member of the LMU track and field team, where she has been recognized as a great leader as she works hard to support her teammates and be a model of professionalism. Through compassionate listening, Destiny has often helped struggling teammates work through challenges to stay on a forward, productive path. Her enthusiasm is infectious as her team leadership provides a comfortable, fun, and safe atmosphere that brings out the best in people. Apart from being a student-athlete, Destiny still participates in other campus activities, especially donating her time to community service activities.
Destiny’s worldview seems to be “we only succeed together.” With her professional and easy-going demeanor, others recognize her natural leadership abilities and follow her lead. She is a model student and leader that others want to emulate.
Royce Dickerson (University of Alabama, 2021)
Initiated into the Iota Circle at the University of Alabama with the gift of membership in 2021, Royce Dickerson majored in marketing and management. As an undergraduate, he received the Alumni Student Award, which goes to the top senior at Alabama. Royce served as the president of Capstone Men and Women, an orientation leader, a resident advisor, and an officer in the Coordinating Council of Honor Societies. He was named the school’s 2019 Outstanding Sophomore. He was repeatedly named to the Dean’s List and received various honors from the Black Faculty and Staff Association and the Black Student Union.
Royce shared, “I believe that the best way one can leave a lasting impact is through the mentorship of others. It is every leader’s responsibility to lead with an honest heart and conviction and to lead in a way that creates a successful and unique path for those to follow. I do this because I have been taught and guided by those that have come before me what it means to be a servant leader.”
Royce is currently a Master of Business Administration candidate at the Manderson Graduate School of Business at Alabama. He is a member of the National Black MBA Association and serves as the executive vice president of the Graduate Student Association.
A native of Atlanta, Royce often serves his community through involvement with the Boys and Girls Club, Children’s Miracle Network, The United Way, and various volunteer ministries. He has also worked with the Alabama Department of Corrections, serving in local prison programs where he aids incarcerated men on their entrepreneurial aspirations. Royce’s many interests include business, education, government, history, leadership, and service. He strives to leave his family, community, and state better than he found it and plans to pursue a career in higher education or government relations.
