MTV viewers know him as Kefla Hare from “Road Rules” Down Under,” but those who sat in on his “Keeping the Dream Alive” speech know him as an eloquent speaker who has transcended becoming just another “Road Ruler.”

Hare was on hand Wednesday to give his personal take on the importance of Martin Luther King Jr.

“Without King, I wouldn’t be up here speaking,” Hare said, “King kept on striving, and I’m here to keep his dream alive.”

Born in the small Alabama town of Foley near the Gulf of Mexico, Hare describes himself as “a country-boy-slash-beach-boy.”

Hare, a cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama in Montgomery, now resides in Irving and teaches reading in the Pleasant Grove Independent School District. He takes his job seriously and passes his and King’s message to his students.

“If I allow the dream to stop and I have an impact on 800 kids – what if they do the same?” Hare asked. “Do the math and you’ll see that the number of kids giving up the dream does nothing but multiply. Hate spreads in an instant.”

Hare is part of a week-long celebration of the late King’s birthday organized by the department of Multicultural Student Affairs.

“People just see Martin Luther King Day as another day off instead of reflecting upon the true significance of this date,” Hare said. “People don’t understand that racism still exists and worry too much about living in a buttercup society where everything is smooth, thereby not focusing on the issue of race. What our society needs to realize is that we have to overcome this bad situation to get to a better spot.”

The message Hare spreads is simple.

“In order to get love, you have to give it first and it’s also up to us to keep the ball rolling as far as what King has accomplished,” Hare said.

Hare has never cared about his fame or what comes with it.

“All that matters is that I know in my heart I’m doing the right thing. Whether you know it or not, the smallest thing that you do can turn out to be the biggest to someone else,” Hare said.

He encourages young people to ask themselves, “Am I going to let the dream stop with me?”Hare also hopes that students will “learn about other history besides that of their own race and just take the time to realize who you are living in this world with.”

This summer Hare plans to move to Los Angeles to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming an actor.

“I just want to live, laugh, smile, and do my best,” he said.