For University of the Ozarks senior Joseph Guidry, success doesn’t start in the classroom or on the tennis court—it begins in the quiet, pre-dawn hours when most of campus is still asleep.
Long before the sun rises, the finance major and tennis standout from Lafayette, La., is already at work. Guidry routinely starts his day before 6 a.m., using the stillness to tackle assignments and prepare for what is often a demanding, tightly packed schedule of classes, practices and matches.
“Throughout my four years, my sleeping pattern has definitely changed,” Guidry said. “I’ve become an old man these last two years. I just started going to bed earlier and rising earlier. This has allowed me to have several hours before any classes to do any homework needed. Nobody else is awake so I have less distractions to do things that I need, and it usually just helps me start my day off right.”
That disciplined routine has paid off. Guidry is on track to graduate next month with Summa Cum Laude honors, carrying a cumulative GPA between 3.85 and 4.0. On the court, the smooth-swinging southpaw has etched his name among the program’s best, ranking seventh all-time with 28 career singles wins and fifth in doubles victories with 32.
Guidry said the rigors of academics and athletics have complemented each other well during his four years at Ozarks.
“Tennis has benefited me academically because it has taught me so much time-management,” he said. “With how much we are away, I’ve had to adapt to studying and doing homework in hotels and buses. Not only that, but there is a lot of thought and pressure in tennis. This has translated well into my academics because I am able to handle pressure a lot better than before. For example, I do try and keep my GPA high, but it is not the ‘end-all, be-all’ for me like it used to be. There are so many thoughts that happen on a tennis court in a practice and during a match. I have had to learn to compartmentalize negative emotions in order to perform my best. Because of this, I have gotten better at dealing with negative emotions, both on and off the court.”
After playing other sports growing up, Guidry first picked up a tennis racket in the seventh grade after tagging along with his father, who played with friends at the local country club. Guidry soon discovered that his above-average hand-eye coordination gave him a natural knack for the game.
“I picked it up rather quickly, and with how much I loved it, I decided to switch to tennis full-time to try and play collegiately,” he said.
Though he admits the sport has tested him at times, Guidry says he’s never enjoyed it more than he has this final semester—a resurgence reflected in his standout spring record of 9–2 in singles and 10–2 in doubles. Guidry and his partner, Kento Iwahara, have twice been named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Doubles Team of the Week
“I’ve realized this semester that I have a love for tennis much deeper than I ever thought,” he said. ” While it has been a part of my life for so long, I have gone through periods where I would be tired of it. I feel like this is the first season that I have truly embraced and made the most of it. As it comes to an end, I have not felt anywhere close to burned out this year. Any time we are at a match, I have felt so much love and enjoyment to be doing this with my teammates. To be feeling these things and then know that I’m going to leave any sort of ‘mark’ on our tennis program means so much to me. I always just wanted to play and represent the school throughout these four years. It’s certainly an honor to be in the top 10.”
As he nears graduation, Guidry hopes an internship he’s been involved in the last two summers with the Northwest Arkansas-based company, Phoenix Lender Services, leads to full-time employment. The company is led by Clarksville-native Lance Sexton, whom Guidry met when Sexton served as an adjunct business faculty member at Ozarks during Guidry’s freshman year.
“My internship involves me servicing current SBA loans,” Guidry said. ” I met Mr. Sexton when he was an adjunct professor here, and remembered the stories he told us in class about small business lending. I originally was an accounting major but started the internship going into my sophomore year. After that summer, I decided to switch to finance. I started meeting and having coffee with Mr. Sexton just so I could learn about what he did. Long story short, he brought me into the company, and I am hoping to work full-time for them when I graduate.”
And while he’s discovered that finance is his calling, he said his two favorite classes at Ozarks have been outside his primary discipline.
“The first one is the American Presidency with Dr. Daniel Fudge,” he said. “This class really taught me a lot about the presidency and ironically, I retained a lot from it. While it was heavy on the lectures, I found myself excited for them because the chapters from our book got me wanting to know more about our presidents. Overall, it was a great experience. The second class is American Romanticism with Dr. Brian Hardman. While the course material did not stand out to me towards the end of the semester, it brought something new into my life. It sparked a love for reading. Anytime people see me reading in a hammock, on the mall, or in a coffee shop, it is because of that class. We started the semester with a book called ‘Memoirs of a Sleepwalker’ and I enjoyed it so much that I started reading. I will forever be grateful to these two classes.”
He said the time spent with his professors will be one of the things he will miss the most about Ozarks.
“My Ozarks professors have been crucial to my college experience,” he said. “I grew up around adults and have naturally felt more comfortable with them throughout my life. In high school I was really close with many of my teachers because I just felt comfortable with them. The same can be said with many of my professors here. So much so that I’ve given advice to freshmen around learning about their professors. While professors come to class to teach, they love questions and conversation. I have had numerous coffees and sit-down talks with my professors that have been well worth it. They are great people and have contributed in many ways to my college experience.”
As Guidry’s time at Ozarks and his collegiate playing career comes to a close in the final weeks of the semester, he said one words comes to mind—grateful.
“I never thought coming to this University would bring me a trip to France, Hilton Head Island, Colorado, and a bunch of teammates that I never imagined to meet,” he said. “College tennis is something that I’m truly finding the beauty in this year. To think that I have been a part of it is very special to me. Because of this, it has been quite emotional. Anytime I play tennis after graduating will look much different than it does currently. If I could restart these four years as a freshman I would in heartbeat.”
Topics: Finance