The Keith M. Miser Leadership Award is presented in recognition of outstanding service to the Univeristy of Vermont through campus leadership. This award goes to Micayla Nadeau-Williams (she/her pronouns).

Micayla is a Sociology and Economics double major and Music minor in the College of Arts and Sciences. Drawn to these fields through a curiosity about what makes people choose, learn, and interact, she developed a deeper social awareness through her academic program that “has paired beautifully with how I have grown in life as a person and leader,” she says. That awareness and determination led Micayla to immerse herself in both academic and co-curricular experiences as an undergraduate.

During her time at UVM, Micayla has been an active member of Womyn of Color Coalition, UVM Beekeeping, and Criminal Justice Reform Club.  She has served as an AdvoCat Campus Tour Guide for University Admissions, a Resident Advisor, the founding chair of the Honors College Student Equity Action Committee, president of UVM Tower Society, and chair of the UVM Program Board. Micayla has likewise been an engaged student leader through UVM’s Mosaic Center for Students of Color, earning the honor of the Roger Summers Award in 2021 and UVM MCSC Outstanding Honors College Student Award in 2019, 2020, and 2021.  

Through her impressive portfolio of leadership experiences, Micayla notes that she has “grown to understand that leadership is not just about delegating tasks or taking charge of an initiative; it’s about growing with your team to recognize strengths and elevating passions.”

In 2020, Micayla was selected for a competitive internship with Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty, and the following year was chosen as a member of the Public Policy & International Affairs  consortium. Her many other academic honors include initiation into Alpha Kappa Delta (International Honor Society of Sociology), Omicron Delta Epsilon (Economics Honor Society), the National Society for Collegiate Scholars, and the Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society.

In reflecting on her UVM experience, Micayla says, “I consistently find myself challenging the way things work and the paths we take; I feel pushed to make a change, to make a difference. With what I’ve learned in both school and work, I feel like I am better able to decide what I want for myself and what I want to achieve.”