On October 19th, Alice Lloyd College was honored to host former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft. She previously visited campus when she was the US Ambassador to Canada to celebrate the naming of the Joseph W. Craft School of Business and Appalachian Leadership, in honor of her husband. Nevertheless, students, faculty, and staff were eager to welcome her back to Caney Creek.
Ambassador Craft is a third-generation Kentuckian, and she takes the values she learned as a child growing up on a small farm in Glasgow, Kentucky, with her across America and the world. Community service and improving education are the cornerstones of her career. During the convocation, she spoke to the students of her many accomplishments and how she fought in the UN to promote and protect peace, human rights, and human dignity for people around the globe. She encouraged ALC’s students to do the same by drawing on the fundamental principle of the Purpose Road Philosophy – servant leadership. She stated, “The heart of government is stewardship.”
While Ambassador Craft made many treaties for peace across the globe, she also ensured the deals would benefit the American worker. Alice Lloyd College instills the importance of hard work into every student through the student work program, and the former ambassador spoke on her belief in the power of work. As US Ambassador to Canada, the President encouraged her to keep the American worker at the forefront of her mind. Craft spoke highly of the USMCA, stating, “Our fellow citizens can enjoy the dignity of work.”
In honor of her many achievements and service to America, she was presented a plaque by ALC Board of Trustees Chairman Robert M. Duncan. Once the convocation finished, she invited students to stay and ask her questions. Several students leaped at the opportunity to speak to Ambassador Craft, and she graciously spent time with each student even though it meant she was going to be delayed to her next appointment. She claimed that she wanted to be like the role models she had growing up and the kind of influence she wanted her children and grandchildren to have.
Over a hundred years ago, Mrs. Alice Lloyd wanted to create an opportunity for the Appalachian people – an opportunity for education, for leadership, and for work. She founded the College on the same free-enterprise system America was founded upon. Ambassador Kelly Craft proved the fundamentals of America, freedom and democracy, are worth fighting for abroad and at home. She encouraged students to lead and fight for Appalachia and America by advising, “Live a life of dignity, godliness, and self-reliance.” Alice Lloyd College would like to thank former Ambassador Kelly Craft for speaking to the students and fanning the flame in each of their hearts to serve and be a light unto the mountains.