WHAT'S IN A NAME? Donors share insights behind meaningful naming gifts

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Donors to the Accelerate Pace campaign share their reasons for giving

The Accelerate Pace capital campaign offers individuals, families and organizations naming opportunities in newly constructed spaces—and elsewhere—on campus. A naming gift provides meaningful support to the campaign and allows donors to honor their children, families or other loved ones, or simply demonstrate their commitment to Pace in a lasting way. Read on to learn how three Pace families plan to make their mark on the school.

Krystal ZELL

& Oliver BELL

“Our family relocated from New York to Atlanta four years ago, and after our son became a Pace Knight, we found a diverse, vibrant and welcoming community at Pace Academy,” says KRYSTAL ZELL, whose son, COLIN BELL ’31, enrolled at Pace in Pre-First.

“Colin has received love, attention, support and a strong educational foundation in his first three years in the Lower School,” she says. “He feels welcomed, known and loved every day, and we look forward to future students being extended the same experience,”

For Krystal and her husband, OLIVER BELL, the decision to support the Accelerate Pace campaign was an easy one, thanks to their positive Pace experiences and shared conviction that learning spaces impact the quality of an education. “A cornerstone of a first-

class education is the facilities in which students interact every day,” Oliver says. “Through Accelerate Pace, the school has the chance to redefine the future of

education.”

“Pace has a strong community and outstanding educators,” Krystal adds. “Accelerate Pace will ensure the physical environment for the children and faculty inspires, nurtures and develops them into the future. Providing students space to cultivate their talents and curiosities, whether learning about history, exploring art or coding robotics will help more fully develop them into capable adults ready to make a positive impact on the world.”

With their gift, the couple will name the office of the Upper School math department chair, located in the Arthur M. Blank Family Upper School.

“We want to honor Colin's grandfather— my father, an educator by trade and a mathematician by heart—with this recognition,” Oliver says. “He received a Ph.D. in math from Massachusetts Institute of Technology—where he applied because, at the time, it was the only graduate school without an application fee.”

To the Bells, naming the office also provides an opportunity to underscore the importance of mathematics: “Even in this age of computers, we still believe quantitative aptitude is core to our children's education,” Oliver says.

In addition to their campaign gift, the Bells are supporting Pace with the gift of time—and in a way that showcases the importance of quantitative aptitude! During the 2021–2022 school year, Oliver will serve on the Pace Parents Club’s Executive Board as treasurer. l

READ MORE NAMING GIFT STORIES ON THE NEXT PAGE

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Ciara & Eddie IRONS

“We see Accelerate Pace as an opportunity to expand upon the great work Pace Academy has done thus far to be on the forefront of changes in education,” says Lower School parent CIARA IRONS.

She and her husband, EDDIE IRONS, parents of BRICE IRONS ’31, have put these words into action by supporting the campaign as donors as well as volunteers. The couple has made a gift to Accelerate Pace that will name a reading nook in the Lower School’s new Soni Family Library. They are also co-chairing the campaign’s Inclusion and Community Committee together with MARISA and DAVID CHIN YEE.

The decision to engage in the campaign on dual levels stems from their deeply held beliefs about education. Eddie explains, “As a family, we believe a whole education in all forms promotes the understanding of social justice, interdependence for how we work as a community and self-identity in our children.”

“Curriculum does not start and stop in a book in the classroom,” Ciara says. She and Eddie are committed to supporting all that “encompasses the needed and necessary education for the whole child. We must do our part where we can.”

The couple's participation in the campaign is also personal. Eddie explains, “Knowing that our child—and hopefully two children, when the time comes for our younger child [daughter Rori Irons] to apply—will directly benefit from all the new Lower School will offer was also a deciding factor for us.”

Naming a reading nook in the Soni Family Library through their campaign gift was personal to them as well. “Our family has a very long line of avid readers,” Ciara explains. “This was an opportunity to contribute to the school and leave a legacy attached to something our family holds dear.”

As co-chairs of the Inclusion and Community Committee, Ciara and Eddie hope to help strengthen the school community by “bringing our collective voice and interests together to develop and support conversations and practices that will ensure efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion [are ongoing],” Eddie says. Goals include “working to enhance cultural competence and creating a more inclusive culture for families overall.” l

Charlie & Liles THOMPSON

CHARLIE and LILES THOMPSON, parents of EVIE THOMPSON ’31 and CHARLES THOMPSON ’26, are enthusiastic about Accelerate Pace and its impact on the Pace Academy student experience.

“Together with the previous capital projects undertaken by the school, Accelerate Pace makes Pace’s facilities second to none across the entire student experience, from Pre-First through 12th grade,” Charlie says. “It also provides an optimal experience for Pace students at the most critical time in their educational careers— the very beginning.”

Liles notes, “While our daughter in second grade will directly benefit from the new Kam Memar Lower School, our seventh-grade son is experiencing and will continue to experience the benefit of gifts made by past Pace families in the Middle and Upper Schools.”

The Thompsons, whose campaign gift will name an Admissions office in the Kam

Memar Lower School, take the long view when considering their investment in Pace. “We look at being a Pace family as a lifetime commitment,” Liles explains. “We stand on the shoulders of families who invested long before us, and we want to make sure future families inherit the best Pace possible.”

Charlie says, “Liles and I both attended independent schools that were smaller relative to the others nearby, and it was ingrained in us that for these institutions to thrive and grow over generations, we all have to contribute in ways that go beyond just our time at the school.”

Naming a space through their Accelerate Pace campaign gift was an opportunity that appealed to the Thompsons. “Naming provides a personal connection that will outlast our children’s time at the school,” Charlie says, “And when our family returns to Pace—long after Evie and Charles have graduated—it will be a visible memory of our time at the school. The Admissions office is meaningful to us as it provides a small connection with future families during their first visits to the school.” “We consider it our responsibility to do our part to perpetuate what has been built,” Liles adds. “While naming a space was the right opportunity for us, we believe what is most important is that every Pace family contributes in a way that feels comfortable. The Pace experience would not be what it is without outstanding facilities, and all our children benefit from the investments that have been made in the school since it was founded.” l

For more information about naming opportunities, which are available for gifts beginning at $50,000, please contact DEBRA MANN in the Office of Advancement at

debra.mann@paceacademy.org

or 404-240-9103.