Texas Tech Graduate Student Will Help People Through Financial Guidance | May 2025 | Texas Tech Now

Carena Fay went from doubting if college was right for her to graduating with her
MBA in May – her third degree in as many years.

Carena Fay doesn’t hesitate to describe herself as an extrovert.

“I’m a personable person,” Fay chuckled. “I love being around people and helping them.”

When she came to Texas Tech University in 2019, she knew her eventual degree needed to lead to a career where she could
help people. 

She landed on personal financial planning (PFP) after seeing a billboard in the College of Health & Human Sciences building advertising the charitable planning concentration of the PFP program. It was a brief moment, but one that impacted Fay
deeply.

“I had never heard about charitable planning,” Fay said. “It was nice to see there
was more than just investments and accounting. I could work directly with people.” 

Fay would go on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in PFP and complete both the charitable planning and financial health and wellness graduate certificates. She opted to stay in Lubbock a little longer and will graduate
with her MBA from the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business this May. 

This spring commencement will cap Fay’s six years at Texas Tech. Years that have seen
her struggle, deal with loss and eventually find success.

The Isolated Extrovert

Like many other first-generation students, Fay had a difficult time adjusting to college. She had been a solid student
in high school, but she had found herself heading toward academic probation after
just one semester at Texas Tech.

“It was overwhelming,” Fay recalled about her first-semester struggles. “I’d never
experienced anything like that. I also had friends that came to Tech, but they ended
up leaving because they realized college wasn’t for them. It was just one of those
things where it felt like everything was coming down. And then the pandemic happened.”

Fay hoped the spring 2020 semester would be a chance for her to get her grades back
on track. Instead, the typical college experience for all students was upended as
classes were moved online. Fay found herself removed from her fellow students and
the university as a whole. 

It’s understandable that she questioned if this was a sign that maybe Texas Tech,
and college in general, just wasn’t for her. Being stuck at home, however, kept Fay
near her parents, and they were going to make sure she finished school with a degree.
Though her father had some college experience thanks to a Navy scholarship, neither
of her parents had college degrees. 

Fay spent the early summer looking at other schools, but none offered the same type
of PFP program as Texas Tech. 

However, a few weeks before returning to Lubbock from her home in Dallas, her older
brother, Harrison, suddenly passed away.

Fay described Harrison as the type of person who could light up a room the moment
he entered. Growing up, Fay always wanted to be around her brother, but he, being
four years older, often wanted his own space.

“He would be like, ‘You’re so annoying. Get away from me,’” Fay said, laughing. “Eventually,
once we grew up, we became best friends and loved hanging out together.”

As difficult as it was for Fay to leave her grieving parents and return to Lubbock
in the fall, she found a renewed sense of determination to complete her degree program. 

“He was a huge factor in why I wanted to go back to Tech,” she said. “I wanted to
just do the things that my brother wouldn’t be able to do anymore.”

Turning Things Around

Fay returned to Texas Tech with a sense of calmness. Whatever challenges she would
face her sophomore year would pale in comparison to the previous months. 

Off the bat, Fay gained a deeper appreciation for her PFP program. While many classes
during the fall 2020 semester were either online or hybrid, Fay had a different experience.

“One of the biggest differences with PFP is that we are really small,” Fay proudly
said. “I was able to still have all in-person classes when many of my friends didn’t.”

Having that in-person connection to students and instructors gave Fay the steady foundation
she needed to recover her GPA. She also joined the Delta Gamma sorority and started making friends beyond her classes.

“It was the best year of my life,” Fay recalled. “You would think it would be the
worst because of everything that had just happened.”

Fay walked for her bachelor’s degree at the commencement ceremony in May 2023, but
unlike other students receiving their degrees, it didn’t feel like the end to something.
In truth, she was continuing her academic career and already working toward her master’s
degree. The PFP program enabled her to begin some graduate coursework while still
a senior.

Fay earned her master’s in PFP in just a year and opted not to walk for this second
degree since she decided to also earn an MBA from Rawls College. The woman who was
unsure if college was right for her had decided to earn a third degree in as many
years.

As a future financial advisor, Fay knew many of her eventual clients could be business
owners. She felt an MBA would be the best way to gain a small glimpse of the various
issues business owners deal with to best support her future clients.

Isolated But Not Alone

Fay’s last year at Texas Tech shared an ironic similarity to her first: taking online
courses. Fay enrolled in the Online MBA at Rawls College but decided to stay in Lubbock. She had friends there and took an
opportunity to work at Red to Black Financial Coaching.

“Red to Black definitely helped me learn how to communicate with clients,” Fay said.
“If a student ever needed help creating a budget or a spending plan or finding a credit
card, we could help them kind of understand it all.”

While Fay connected with fellow PFP and Texas Tech students through Red to Black,
she harnessed some of the lessons from the pandemic to better connect with her MBA
instructors and classmates. She learned she needed to be more intentional with her
communication efforts and would often email instructors or attend virtual office hours.

She also saw the emphasis on personal accountability an online program demands, preparing
her to transition into the professional world. 

“You have to sit down, watch the lectures and actually do it all on your own,” Fay
said. “You’re dedicating time to do the work; the professor isn’t there to hold you
accountable. Your boss is just going to give you a task, and you have to figure it
out.”

As she prepares to say goodbye to Texas Tech after six years and three degrees, Fay
is eager to begin working in San Antonio at CAPTRUST, a financial consultant company.
Ever the personable person, she’s excited to build relationships with clients, address
their financial concerns and help them save for their future.

Fay’s voice reverberates with confidence seasoned with experience as she talks about
her burgeoning career. She credits Texas Tech and her instructors for setting her
up for success.

“Tech has the best professors and provides the best hands-on learning experiences,”
Fay said. “The professors – really, everybody here – give you enough and prepare you
so well. They want to see you succeed post-graduation. That’s what ‘From Here, It’s
Possible™’ is all about.”