He attended Washington and Lee University where he graduated Magna cum laude with a degree in Neuroscience. Medical school followed at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. During medical school, Dr. Pace received numerous awards including The Commonwealth Award, The Nervous System Award, The Physiology Award, The Aesculapian Award, and The VCU School of Medicine Summer Research Fellowship. He received a Jason Arthur Scholarship and received a Joseph Collins Foundation Scholarship for his efforts to continue to incorporate study of the trumpet while in medical school. Dr. Pace was also inducted into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. After medical school, Dr. Pace stayed at Virginia Commonwealth University for his Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency. Residency honors included the Lazar J. Greenfield Award, The American College of Surgeons Virginia Chapter Humanitarian Grant for his mission work in Vietnam, and the S. Dawson Theogaraj Scholarship award three times. Residency was followed by a Hand and Microsurgery Fellowship at Southern Illinois University.