In his senior year at BSC, Bernard Mays, Jr. ’04 made a decision that would leave a lasting legacy on the Hilltop: he ran for SGA President.

Despite being active on campus as a successful accounting major, Mays was not the typical face of the SGA that BSC had come to expect. Unlike any SGA President in BSC’s history, Mays was African American.

“It was and is one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” Mays says. “I was unsure about running at first. I was thinking, ‘Why would you do this?’ But I had enough cheerleaders saying, ‘Why not?’”

Mays’ successful election made him BSC’s first Black SGA President, a victory that has impacted the trajectory of his life. After earning his master’s degree in accounting from the University of Virginia in 2005 and becoming a CPA in 2006, Mays went on to become a community leader with an impressive career of administering executive financial operations across the natural gas, coal, and retail industries. He now works at UAB as assistant vice president and controller.

Mays credits BSC’s liberal arts mindset with giving him an innovative edge in his field.

“My liberal arts education challenged me to get comfortable with creative thinking as well as critical thinking. In general, accountants are linear thinkers,” he says. “Our goal is to get from point A to B as efficiently as possible. That analytical mindset has some advantages, but being able to analyze issues through a more creative lens is also helpful.”

He points to the servant leadership emphasis cultivated at BSC as vital to his success as well. “It influences my communication style, how I manage teams, and how I prioritize tasks. Most of my ‘soft skills’ were sharpened because of my service learning experiences.”

A bold dreamer whose wife, Stephanie Houston Mays ’04, says “wakes up every day with Oprah dreams,” Mays is encouraged by the strides BSC has made toward diversity and inclusion since his graduation, including expanding the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion and establishing a Diversity Enrichment Team.

“From my perspective, I believe the College has demonstrated a willingness to have difficult conversations around diversity and inclusion,” he says. “I recently participated in a BSC Alumni virtual book club discussion about the book ‘Some of My Best Friends Are Black’ and was inspired, challenged, and encouraged by the engaging dialogue.”

Mays is especially pleased to see student-led initiatives from organizations like the Black Student Union, Black Men’s and Women’s Union, and Cross Cultural Committee.

“My hope for this generation of minority students is that they will be bold in their ambition, confident in their worth, and tenacious in all things,” he says. Addressing current minority students at BSC, he adds, “My hope is that you have a legacy mindset. A legacy mindset will impact the stewardship of your gifts and talents, the consistency of your character, and the lasting mark of your contributions to your community.”

Advice: “Be intentional about building meaningful relationships. We all need people who inspire us, care for us, and hold us accountable.”

This story was published in the Fall/Winter 2020 issue of ’Southern, BSC’s alumni magazine.

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