Taking a different path

By Kyle Hobstetter on December 12, 2019

After spending seven years in the Air Force as a Chinese Cryptologic Language Analyst, Lacey Chambers thought she was ready to find something new.

So, when she came to Towson University after being discharged, she thought about teaching. She then tried the Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics Program. For a time, she was a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her second daughter, Victoria. 

But after going down a few different paths, Chambers found out that where she started, was where she was meant to be. This December, Chambers will graduate with two bachelor’s degrees in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration on Asian studies[BROKEN LINK], and history, with minors in Chinese and international studies.

When she initially left the military, she focused on trying to do the opposite of her Air Force career.

“I'm sitting down and looking and going, I really do love Asian studies, I really do love the Chinese language,” Chambers says. “I kind of fought against it for so long, because of this idea that I was only doing it because I was told to. It was only something that somebody else wanted me to do, when in reality, I've wanted to learn Chinese since I was little.”

Chambers initially learned Chinese through the Air Force at the Defense Language Institute. When she first came to TU, she was speaking the language at a 400 level.

But when she initially started at TU in 2013, she was coming right off of being in the military. She left Hawaii, where she was stationed, in June to move to Towson, and then started school that August. 

By the time the school year got going, Chambers was suffering from burnout. So she took some time off to start a family with her husband Corey — and just to recharge her batteries. Those first couple of years she also kept to herself because she didn’t know anybody as a “mature student.” 

But when she came back after her second break, she made it a point to get more involved on campus. She helped with the campus’ Chinese New Year’s Events, presented at the Mid-Atlantic Asian Studies Conference at Dickinson College and even won an award from the Asian Studies Department. 

Once she got more involved on campus and in her studies, the college experience just felt different, even easier.

“I've been fortunate to be in the College of Liberal Arts because everybody I’ve encountered has just been incredible,” Chambers says. “It feels amazing to be accomplishing this surrounded by people who have supported me the entire time.

“(Being) surrounded by the people I've been surrounded by, the network of professors and faculty and staff and people that I've met here feels like it's so much more than it would have been otherwise. And it's amazing.” 

“ My path was not straight, and it was not easy. But I'm here today because I did not let the obstacles and detours that I took permanently keep me from achieving my end goal. ”

And while the professors and staff in CLA we’re great, it was the Military and Veterans Center (MVC) where she truly found her “tribe.” Along with studying and socializing with her fellow veterans, she also held a work study job through Veterans Affairs.

As a Chinese Linguist, Chambers was never really deployed because the threats the U.S. faced at the time were not in her area of expertise. And since she wasn’t deployed, there have been points where she feels she hasn’t earned the title of veteran. 

Coming to the MVC, she learned that she isn’t the only one who feels that way. In fact,  through her new “tribe" in the MVC, she learned that there are many different types of veterans.  

“Even though we have a variety of different careers that we want, there's a shared experience and a shared culture that not really anybody outside of here understands,” Chambers says. “It's been amazing place with people who are fiercely supportive of me. They’re encouraging of me, and it’s the environment that TU fosters in general.”

Along with her "tribe" at school, Chambers says she wouldn’t be here without a supportive family — including her husband Corey. 

The two have been married for six years, the entire time that Chambers has been on her TU journey, so she admits there has been some semesters where Corey has been kind of a “single father” because of her hectic class schedule.

While getting ready for commencement, she tried on her cap and gown for Corey. When he told her that he was proud of her, Chambers admitted that she started to sob at the words.

“He’s not really a vocally expressive person except for ‘I love you,’” Chambers says with a laugh. “So, for him to say, ‘I’m proud of you’ it just got me. He’s my rock, and we’re each other’s’ stability and validation in our marriage.”

She’s also hoping to set an example for her stepdaughter Viola, daughter Victoria and son Elijah. She wants to show them that you don’t have to take a conventional path towards your future.

After starting and stopping a few times in her six years at TU, she will be graduating with two degrees at age 31. She is also currently undergoing a background investigation for a job with the National Security Agency.

Chambers is hoping she can be the example for her children that there is no set path you have to take to reach your dreams.

“Taking detours, taking a winding path, and taking more time than the average college student means nothing to anybody except you and that importance you place on it,” Chambers says. “My path was not straight, and it was not easy. But I'm here today because I did not let the obstacles and detours that I took permanently keep me from achieving my end goal.”

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland, Diverse and Inclusive Campus.