For Lacey Guy, school and learning has always been a natural part of her life.
Guy, who recently graduated with a degree in Managing Information Systems from the College of Business at Southern Arkansas University, has seen her life and academic career take several unusual turns.
Guy is originally from Houston. However, after losing her mom at an early age, she moved to the small town of Delight, Arkansas, in ninth grade. Guy lived with her grandparents, Larry and Janice Taylor, while she went to high school. In her first year in southwest Arkansas, she set a high goal for herself: graduate early.
“I’ve always felt I was mature. So I was ready for my life to begin outside of high school,” Guy explained of her decision. She immediately began taking extra classes, both at night and during the summer.
Guy reached her goal, graduating Delight High School after what would normally have been her 11th grade year in 2011. Now she faced another decision – where to go to college. She visited several schools, but quickly chose SAU.
“I came to SAU a few times for FFA competitions. I felt a connection to the campus,” said Guy.
The Houston native originally chose to study accounting as her major, but soon changed when she saw her interests and talents were a better fit in another area.
“As I got more into my MIS classes, I felt like that’s what I should be doing,” said Guy, who had always been good at math and enjoyed working with computers. “The programming classes came real easy for me. I enjoyed doing homework in these classes. It didn’t feel like it was school work.”
Guy then had another career decision facing her: should she choose to major in computer science or information systems. Again, it proved to be an easy choice.
“The reason I chose MIS over computer science is because the MIS person at a company is the person between the computer users and the technology services. The user will tell you what a problem is, and you’ll find a solution, even if it’s creating something new. So in the end, you did something that benefited the whole company,” explained Guy.
Guy’s hard work paid off during her senior year in the College of Business at SAU when she earned an opportunity for an internship with Murphy USA in El Dorado. Guy’s title was Intern for Application Support, a position that brought her in contact with a variety of areas at Murphy USA.
“I was exposed to the entire company. I got to work with all the departments. And that was really beneficial,” said Guy.
With her education and experience through the internship, Guy quickly found a job, taking a position of Associate Program Developer with AIG back in her hometown of Houston.
“I’m excited about it. But I’m a little bit scared, too,” admitted Guy. But she also feels like she’s prepared for the next chapter of her life. “When they interviewed me, they told me they had never seen someone with so much experience from one company.”
While at SAU, Guy was involved in a variety of activities, including Enactus (formerly the Students In Free Enterprise), the SAU Honors College, Alpha Chi, and the Business Students Advisory Council.
Guy said she feels the College of Business and SAU prepared her well.
“My favorite part of SAU is the personal journey. I came here as a very quiet person. I was terrible at speaking in public, but I got involved with some student groups that helped.
“I feel like SAU was the perfect fit for me. It helped me become who I am now. I don’t feel like I could have developed as well at another college,” said Guy.
