November 13, 2026

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Laura Brelsford | hcnews@hawks.huntingdon.edu | (334) 833-4563

Patricia Guy ’69 Honored at Annual Lunch

Montgomery, AL – Wednesday, November 11, three days after her birthday on November 8, members of the Huntingdon family met in Stallworth Dining Room for the sixth annual Patricia Guy Birthday Luncheon.

This year, the event continued the legacy of paying tribute to Huntingdon’s first Black student and graduate, Patricia Guy. Each year since 2020, on or near Patricia’s birthday, students, faculty, and staff honor the legacy of Patricia’s enrollment that integrated Huntingdon.

In the tradition of the program, a junior student shares a biography of Ms. Guy. This year, Abby Byrd ’08 read the biography and sections from the book Journeys that Opened up the World: Women, Student Christian Movements, and Social Justice 1955-1975, written by Huntingdon alumna, Shelia McCurdy ’66. Ms. McCurdy includes a section in her story about Patricia’s first years at Huntingdon.

After Abby shared the biography, this year’s senior speaker, Isaiah Matthews ’27, offered his reflections on what Patricia’s legacy is at Huntingdon College and what her actions teach students today. The text of Isaiah’s speech is below.

Legacy: Leaving a Place Better Than You Found It

Patricia Ann Guy Celebration |  Isaiah Matthews | Huntingdon College

Good afternoon, everyone!

First, I would like to thank everyone for being here today as we gather to celebrate and honor the life and legacy of a remarkable woman, Mrs. Patricia Ann Guy.

It is truly an honor and a privilege to stand before you today, not only as a student of Huntingdon College but also as someone whose own journey has been impacted by the courage, determination, and sacrifices of those who came before me.

When I was asked to speak today, I began thinking about what I wanted to share. I thought about Patricia Guy, her story, her courage, and the impact she made on this institution. And as I reflected on her life, one word continued to come to mind.

Legacy.

What is a legacy?

Is it the awards we receive? The titles we hold? The positions we occupy? Or is it something much greater?

I believe legacy is not simply about what we accomplish while we are here. It is about what remains because we were here. One of my mentors once told me, “Life is about the dash.” When our Lord and Savior calls us home, what will we leave behind? Between the date we are born and the date we depart this life, there is a dash. What will that dash represent? What legacy will we leave behind?

That dash represents the doors we open, the barriers we break, the people we inspire, and the opportunities we create for those who will come after us.

And when I think about that definition of legacy, I cannot help but think about Mrs. Patricia Ann Guy.

In 1965, Patricia Guy became the first Black student to enroll at Huntingdon College. Now, I want us to really think about what that meant.

In 1965, our country was still wrestling with segregation, racial inequality, and the fight for civil rights. Right here in Montgomery, Alabama, history was being made, and change was taking place.

And in the middle of that change stood a young woman who made a decision that would forever change the history of Huntingdon College.

Patricia Guy walked onto a campus where no Black student had walked before her as an enrolled member of the student body.

She entered classrooms, hallways, and spaces where she did not always know whether she would be welcomed or accepted.

One part of Patricia’s story that has always stood out to me is her experience in the dining hall.

For the first three days, Patricia sat alone at lunch. Imagine being a young college student, already trying to adjust to a new environment, while also carrying the weight of being the first person who looked like you to attend that institution.

But Patricia kept showing up.

And on the fourth day, Sheila McCurdy and her roommate walked over and sat with her.

What may seem like a simple act of kindness today represented something much greater at that time. It was a moment of change, a moment of acceptance, and a moment that helped move Huntingdon toward becoming a more inclusive community. It is the kind of moment our society and our generation could learn from. It was more than a simple act of kindness; it reflected a change in perspective. Sheila could never fully understand everything Patricia had endured, both at Huntingdon and throughout her life. Yet life is about building community and growing stronger as a village and as a nation. Sheila’s decision encouraged community, love, compassion, understanding, and, most importantly, change.

Patricia did not know what the future would hold. She did not know how many lives her decision would impact. She simply had the courage to take that first step.

And sometimes, that is exactly how a legacy begins.

With one person willing to be the first.

When I think about Patricia’s story, it resonates with me on a very personal level.

Throughout my life, I have had the opportunity and responsibility of being the first in several spaces.

I was the first Black male to graduate from Whitesburg Christian Academy, my high school in Huntsville, Alabama.

I was the first Black male accepted into an internship program—one of the premier internship programs in the state.

And here at Huntingdon College, I had the opportunity to reestablish the Pi Chi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, a historically Black Greek-letter organization.

These are accomplishments that I am extremely proud of. But I share them today not to highlight myself, because this moment is not about me.

I share them because being the first carries a responsibility that goes far beyond personal recognition.

Being the first means understanding that your actions may determine whether someone else gets an opportunity. Being the first means setting a standard.

Being the first sometimes means walking into rooms where you may feel uncomfortable, where you may be different, or where the path forward has not yet been established.

And being the first means recognizing that the goal is never to be the only one.

The goal is to make sure that when you leave, somebody else has the opportunity to walk through that same door—and, hopefully, through doors that you never had the chance to enter.

That is what Patricia Guy did for Huntingdon College.

And that is what I strive to do in my own life.

As I reflect on the importance of legacy, I cannot help but think about someone who is very near and dear to my heart.

My mother.

Growing up, my mother instilled many values in me, but there is one lesson that has remained with me everywhere I go.

She would always tell me, “Leave a place better than you found it.”

Now, as a child, I may not have fully understood the depth of those words.

But as I have grown older, taken on leadership positions, entered professional environments, and encountered new opportunities, I have come to understand just how powerful that simple statement really is.

Leave a place better than you found it.

And as I reflect on those words, I think about another person who reinforced that same lesson in my life: my high school basketball coach, Rob Murphy.

Coach Murphy believed that basketball was about more than winning games. It was also about building character, discipline, and responsibility.

I remember that after every game, whether we won or lost, Coach Murphy expected us to help clean up the gym. As a young player, especially after a tough loss, I did not always understand why we had to stay behind and clean.

But looking back, I realize he was teaching us something far more important than how to clean a gym. He was teaching us to take pride in our surroundings, to serve others, and to do what was right even when no one was watching.

Win or lose, we had a responsibility to leave that gym better than we found it. At the time, I did not recognize it, but character was being shaped and a legacy was being built, one small act at a time.

My mother taught me the principle. Coach Murphy taught me how to put it into practice. And Patricia Guy’s story shows me how that same principle can change an entire institution.

Patricia did not simply come to Huntingdon to receive an education. Through her courage, she helped leave this college better than she found it—and opened doors for generations who would follow.

That means when you enter a classroom, make a positive contribution.

When you join an organization, help it grow.

When you accept a leadership position, don’t just enjoy the title. Do something meaningful with it.

When you are given an opportunity, don’t just think about what that opportunity can do for you. Think about what you can do with that opportunity to help someone else.

Because at the end of the day, people may forget the titles we held. They may forget the positions we occupied. They may even forget some of the things we accomplished.

But they will remember the impact we made.

And I believe that is the very foundation of Patricia Guy’s legacy.

Patricia did not simply attend Huntingdon College. She helped change Huntingdon College.

She left this institution better than she found it.

And because of her courage, generations of students have been able to experience opportunities that once seemed impossible.

As I look around our campus today, I see students from different backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life learning together, leading organizations, building friendships, and preparing to make an impact on the world.

I see students breaking barriers, achieving milestones, and accomplishing things that perhaps no one in their families or communities has ever accomplished before.

And while we may not always stop to think about it, we are all beneficiaries of the sacrifices made by those who came before us.

For students like myself, Patricia Guy’s story is a reminder that we are standing on the shoulders of giants.

We are walking through doors that someone else had the courage to open.

And with that comes a responsibility.

A responsibility to continue moving forward.

A responsibility to create opportunities for others.

And a responsibility to make sure that the legacy we inherited does not end with us.

You see, legacy is not just about being remembered.

Legacy is about making a difference that continues even when you are no longer present.

And that is what makes today’s celebration so meaningful.

Although Patricia Guy is no longer physically walking the halls of Huntingdon College, her legacy continues to live on.

It lives on through every student who has the courage to pursue something that has never been done before.

It lives on through every student leader who works to make this campus a better place.

It lives on through every person who chooses kindness over division, inclusion over exclusion, and courage over fear.

And it lives on through the countless students who will come after us, many of whom may never fully understand the sacrifices that made their opportunities possible.

As I prepare to conclude my own journey here at Huntingdon College, I often think about the mark I will leave behind.

Not simply what I have accomplished, but whether I have made a meaningful difference.

Did I help someone along the way?

Did I create an opportunity for another student?

Did I strengthen an organization?

Did I represent my family, my community, and this institution in a way that would make those who came before me proud?

And most importantly, did I leave this place better than I found it?

Those are the questions I believe we should all ask ourselves.

Because every single person in this room is building a legacy, whether we realize it or not.

You do not have to be the first to do something to leave a legacy.

You do not have to hold a prestigious title.

You do not have to have your name on a building or receive public recognition.

Sometimes, legacy is found in the smallest acts of kindness, in the people we encourage, in the opportunities we create, and in the lives we touch.

Patricia Guy’s legacy began with the courage to walk through a door that had never been opened to someone like her.

Our responsibility is to make sure that door remains open and that we continue opening new ones.

So today, as we celebrate Mrs. Patricia Ann Guy, I want to challenge each of us to think about the legacy we are creating.

To my fellow students, don’t simply come to Huntingdon to earn a degree. Come here to make a difference.

To our faculty, staff, alumni, and community members, continue investing in the next generation of trailblazers.

And to everyone here today, remember that the greatest measure of our lives is not simply what we achieve for ourselves, but what we make possible for others.

I began today by talking about one word: legacy.

And I want to leave you with this thought.

Being the first is an accomplishment. Making sure you are not the last is a legacy.

Patricia Guy was the first, but because of her courage, she certainly was not the last.

Her story is still being written through each and every one of us.

And my hope is that years from now, when someone reflects on the contributions we made, they too will be able to say that we left our communities, our organizations, and our beloved Huntingdon College better than we found them.

That is the legacy Patricia Guy established.

That is the legacy my mother has challenged me to build.

And that is the legacy I hope we will all continue.

Thank you, God bless you, and as always, Hawk ’Em!

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