Putting family first

COB’s Luther Mayberry is motivated to continue thriving in and outside of the classroom

Few 21-year-olds plan their lives 30 years in advance based on their future family – a family that doesn’t even exist yet. Senior accounting major Luther Mayberry is the exception.

A native of Houston, Mayberry grew up in a household with two loving and supportive parents. He is the oldest of four brothers.

“My ultimate goal in life is to be the best dad and best husband I can possibly be,” he shared. “My dad had opportunities to travel for work or take on more responsibility that would have required him to work longer hours, but he turned those down so he could be more involved with his kids. That made a huge difference in my life and it’s the reason why I’m so motivated to put my family first as well.”

Mayberry already serves as a role model to his younger brothers as well as the kids at his church.

“I’m aware of the way people see me so I hold myself up to a high standard,” he said. “I try to lead by example.”

As one of the UTSA College of Business “100 Best” students, a summer internship with Ernst & Young already secured, and plans to begin his Masters of Accountancy at UTSA this fall, Mayberry has a bright future ahead of him.

“I never thought in a million years that I’d be in this position,” he said.

Growing up, Mayberry was a terrible student. He was lazy and spent all his time after school playing video games or playing outside. He recalls very clearly the moment in eighth grade when everything changed.

“In my school district, we had to apply to get into the high school we wanted. I didn’t get accepted into my first or second choice. The only school I got into was one that was very far away from where I lived and it just wasn’t going to work. That moment of uncertainty about my future made me wake up and realize that I should have tried harder in school.”

Once he started high school, things turned around. He put school before play and set his sights on getting into a good college. Mayberry graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA and came to UTSA.

After Mayberry finishes his graduate degree, he hopes to work for an accounting firm, then shift to a company in the oil and gas industry. Down the road, after his future kids have grown up, he wants to be a chief financial officer. No matter what his professional future holds, rest assured his family will be a major part of it.

– KC Gonzalez

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