Macy Nye graduated from Newman in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in business and strategic intelligence — a strategic pathway toward her dream of becoming a lawyer.
“I’ve been interested in pursuing a career in law for as long as I can remember,” Nye said. “Even as a kid, it was always my answer to the question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ But over time, I realized that what draws me to a career in law is the opportunity to serve my community and to challenge myself.”
Passion for law reaffirmed
At Newman, that passion was reaffirmed through her involvement in the Future Legal Professionals of Newman club. In 2019, Professor Larry Heck took a group of students, including Nye, to MINK Law Day in Overland Park, where they met law school representatives from Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Although Nye ultimately attended a law school in Montgomery, Alabama, the experience marked her first exposure to law school representatives.
“This really set me up for success when it came to preparing for the LSAT and crafting a personal statement for my law school application,” she said.
Newman helped prepare her for law school
Nye’s professors at Newman also helped prepare her for law school by emphasizing critical thinking and clear communication, which are skills Nye sees as essential to the legal profession.
“They consistently challenged me to go beyond surface-level answers, structure arguments and respond to opposing viewpoints,” Nye said. “I was also one of the first graduates to go through the business and strategic intelligence program, and those courses significantly strengthened my confidence in my analytical skills.”
Through the program, Nye learned how to analyze large amounts of data, distill it into concise action items and report insights to higher-level decision-makers. Those skills translate directly to the legal field, where attorneys have to interpret dense, jargon-filled statutes and case law and determine what matters most for a client.
Professor Scott McIntosh, lecturer in Newman’s School of Business & Technology, had a particularly strong impact on Nye’s development. As her academic advisor, McIntosh continued to mentor Nye beyond graduation, staying in touch and celebrating her academic and professional milestones.
“Macy was one of those students who excelled at securing balance in life,” said McIntosh. “I mean, she had a lot of bowling pins in the air as an undergraduate, not just proactively nailing down my curriculum at the School of Business, but also as an athlete and contributor to campus life.”
Today, Nye is a Juris Doctor student at the Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law and plans to graduate this May. She will then take the Kansas bar exam and prepare for the next step in her career. Her husband Clay is currently stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia, and while they’ve valued their time there and the connections that come with military life, they’re looking forward to returning home to be closer to family.
Encouragement for students
For current Newman students considering law school, Nye emphasizes the importance of a strong support system.
“Law school is demanding, and having people who believe in you that you can lean on makes a huge difference,” Nye said. “I would also encourage students to think carefully about why they want to go to law school and what they hope to gain from it. It has to be something you truly want to do, because there will be challenging moments where you may second guess your decision. If this is your goal, commit to it fully and don’t treat it like you have a back-up plan.”
