After 24 years of being the KACU secretary, Sandy Byers will retire from Abilene Christian University at the end of this fall semester.
Byers started working at KACU in August of 1988 as the traffic manager and now at the age of 66, the 2012-2013 school year will be her last.
“Every memory I have made at ACU is a memory worth keeping,” Byers said. “It has been a fantastic ride. I love the students, hearing them talk about their lives and openly talk about the Lord. The students have truly been inspirational to me and I would like to tell them that the Lord is watching over all of them.”
She said she has loved coming to work the past 24 years because of the students and staff she has worked with. She has never experienced a cloudy day because the students have been her true sunshine, Byers said. The students have lifted her spirits and it is this community that she will miss the most.
“Sandy is always an encouragement,” said Marcus Bowen, who has worked with Byers for the past 2 years. “She always has a smile on her face and she holds everything together here at KACU. Sandy keeps everyone connected and she is more than just a co-worker but also a friend. She cares deeply for the students and staff and is fully committed.”
Byers will continue her life journey as she leaves ACU and plans to be with her family. She said she wants to be there for her family and watch them grow as she plans to pass on the student’s wisdom she has gained over her 24 years of work.
Byers has two sons; the oldest lives in Austin and the younger in Georgetown. She also has a 15-year-old grandson and a 3-year-old granddaughter. KACU has been her family for 24 years but it is time for her to go back to her first family she loves so dearly, she said.
“I want to thank them all. The students didn’t realize they have been my family, since my family is gone, so I have treated them as my family too,” said Byers. “The Lord was always in my life but I put Him aside, but the students have taught me to come back to Him. They brought me back to the Lord and I am forever thankful for that. I have been given the strength to retire and I am going to embrace it.”
