Director of Enrollment Management Margaret Mahood Mills ’76 was awarded Ravenscroft’s Distinguished Alumni Award at a gala event held Friday, May 3, as part of Alumni Weekend.

Established in 1989, the Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Ravenscroft School Alumni Association. It is given to recognize distinguished service and loyalty to Ravenscroft and/or outstanding professional, civic and personal accomplishments.

Mills certainly meets those qualifications. As a member of the Class of 1976, she was among the first students to attend Ravenscroft at its new North Raleigh campus, and she has remained actively engaged — as an alumna, employee and parent to Baker ’11 — in the years since.

Mills has held a number of critical roles since joining Ravenscroft’s faculty and staff, serving as both Director of Alumni Affairs (2001-2003) and Director of Marketing (2003-2007) before becoming Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing in 2007. She has served in her current role since 2012.

A member of the school’s Leadership Team, Mills has also served on the Academic Committee, all three division’s Admissions Committees, and the Board of Trustees’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity Committee. She has also been a member of the executive team of the Triangle Independent School Consortium.

Head of School Doreen Kelly presented the award to Mills. The two have worked together throughout Kelly’s 21-year tenure. 

In her remarks, Kelly pulled from her Christian faith perspective in noting that Mills is “a Proverbs 31 Woman through and through.” She cited Mills’s integrity, wisdom, compassion, dignity and resourcefulness in everything she does on behalf of Ravenscroft and the families she serves.

Kelly also shared the words of Mills’s fellow alum and Admissions team member Jessie Hale Tesh ’05, who submitted the nomination for this award. “Margaret is what I would describe as a model Ravenscroft alum,” Tesh wrote. “She is honest, kind and dedicated, and her love for Ravenscroft is palpable. … It doesn't matter when it is or where she is; Margaret is an advocate for the entire community — faculty and staff, students, alumni, Athletics, Fine Arts, academics and, of course, prospective families.” 

Tesh also noted the growth of financial aid and other family assistance during Mills’s tenure, writing, “Margaret advocates for families and works tirelessly to ensure families can afford Ravenscroft with financial assistance … making Ravenscroft more accessible to people in the community who never considered that Ravenscroft could be a possibility for their children.” 

Mills said she was "honored to be recognized with this award.” 

“I began my relationship with Ravenscroft as a young student over 50 years ago, and I’ve loved the school ever since,” she continued. “I am grateful to have been able to serve the school in several roles and continue my Ravenscroft journey.”

The Ravenscroft Alumni Association presented a number of awards on Friday, May 3, as part of Alumni Weekend. Go to Our Ravens>Alumni to read additional stories about the recipients of those awards and the many other outstanding Ravens alumni who make our school community proud.