Posted on April 30, 2026 by Wendy Frost
Accounting major Peyton Guidry didn’t have a plan when he first started at UT San Antonio, but that quickly changed once he developed a roadmap to secure his future.
Peyton Guidry
Born and raised in Cypress, Texas, Guidry wasn’t familiar with UT San Antonio, but was soon taken with the university after visiting. “I found that I liked it here,” said Guidry, who is a member of the Honors College and the Business Honors program. “I enjoyed the smaller classrooms. Everything was located in the same area. I felt that faculty would be able to help guide me.”
Guidry was undecided at first in terms of his major, but chose business and accounting because of a positive experience he had during a high school class. While he loved their accounting professors, two of his favorite classes at UT San Antonio were a macroeconomics course with Les Doss and an Honors finance class with Ron Sweet.
“Professor Sweet taught me the basic principles of understanding finance,” said Guidry. “I learned so much from that class. He taught me how to analyze a company, and I apply that information today within the stock market.”
As a child, Guidry always liked puzzles, and for him accounting is one very large puzzle. In particular, his focus is in audit, where he can utilize data to better understand the financial picture of an organization.
Exploring the field further, Guidry completed two accounting internships with Malone Bailey where he began to get a better feel of the audit industry. “Internships are a great way to build professional development, networking skills and gain insights in what you want to do and what type of company you want to work,” Guidry said. “I learned that I liked the field of auditing, but I wanted to work at a bigger firm.”
This summer Guidry will be an audit intern with EY in Houston. Knowing that he wanted to work at a larger firm, he interviewed with 20 firms and received offers from every single one.
“I’ve not even started working there, but they’ve proven that they are really invested in their people,” said Guidry, who has already been paired with a company mentor. “The support I’ve received from them has been awesome.”
Beyond academic development, Guidry views his work with the university’s Ambassadors program as one of his proudest achievements. Joining as a freshman, the organization was experiencing a decline. Once Guidry was named president his junior year, he developed an eight-step plan to rebuild this iconic university student organization.
“From the two years I’ve been president, I’ve taken the Ambassadors from 10 members to 50 members,” he said. “We needed to get back to the basics of doings things right at events such as commencement, Roadrunner Preview day and the ring celebration. Not only did we grow in size, but I focused on creating connections for the members to expand their business networks and professional development skills.”
Guidry shared that the experienced taught him how to work as part of a team as well as a leader. Motivating a team and aligning their expectations are valuable skills that are easier to practice in a hands-on environment.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve done, but it provided the biggest blessing and reward,” said Guidry. “I feel so confident in myself now. Being president gave me a sense of passion and pride for the university.”
After four years of grinding, Guidry can begin to enjoy the results of that hard work. “Going into college at first I was doing it for my parents rather than myself,” he said. “After coming to the realization that this is my life, I changed my perspective on my education and realized that everything I was doing was for me. I had a stronger appetite to chase those dreams.”
Looking to give back to the university that has supported him throughout the years, Guidry noted that you can’t take from a community without giving back to it. He hopes to participate in recruiting events with EY and continue to mentor fellow students. Following his internship, Guidry returns to the college as a graduate student in the Master of Accountancy program.
“One of the great things that I’ve noticed about this university is that it grows with you,” said Guidry. “I always like to surround myself with people who are like-minded and ambitious, and UTSA encouraged that development. I truly loved being here, and I wouldn’t change a thing about my experience.”
— Wendy Frost
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