Marci Stacey is a non-traditional student at BYU-Idaho. She is a single mom who worked in the nuclear field across the United Sates for several years in different laboratories.
Stacey told BYU-Idaho Radio while she was working in her last job she had the impression the Lord told her she needed to return to school.
“Finally I humbled myself to the point where I was ready to hear what He had to say,” Stacey said. “I said ‘Ok, what would you like me to do then?’ and He said, ‘I want you to go back to school.’”
She said it wasn’t an easy thing to do because she would be leaving a really good job to go back to school.
Stacey comes from a family who are involved in the science field. Both of her parents are engineers, her brother recently got accepted to the Ph.D. program in Stanford to work as an aerospace engineer, and has several siblings in the medical field.
“I really thought Science and Technology was what I was going to be doing,” Stacey said.
However, as Stacey went back to school her plans changed after taking a pottery class and reigniting her interest in art.
“This fire and this passion that I had quenched a long time ago started to resurface and it was amazing,” Stacey said. “After the course of a couple of years I started to realize this is what the Lord meant when he said, ‘You’re supposed to be doing something different.’”
She said her journey has been a long, humbling and sometimes even painful but overall has been a positive one.
She recently received the first place award in the Student Category at the Art Grows Rexburg Art Show and Competition.
“Being able to get that award at the Art Grows Rexburg competition was kind of a validation to me that yes, I’m going in the right direction, I’m doing what the Lord is wanting me to do and eventually it’s coming together,” Stacey said.
She said as she has gone through the process of self-discovery, she has realized that painting is where her heart is.
“If I’ve already left a great job making really great money, I need to go where my heart is, and I need to follow my passions,” Stacey said.
Apart from being a student and a mom, she is the lead global mental health coordinator for the Caluya Foundation and she also works with the LDS Addiction Recovery Program working with local jail inmates.
The Caluya Foundation is a non-profit organization that “provide culturally relevant mental health training, collaborative research, and humanitarian support,” according to its website.
The foundation has local events coming up like a volunteer workshop on July 22. They will also host a 5k run to stop FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) on September 29. For more information about these events you can visit their website.
Working with the LDS Addiction Recovery Program, Stacey works as one of the facilitators in lower-risk jails with inmates who are on work release, but recently has had the opportunity to go into the higher-risk areas.
She said it has been an amazing experience working with these inmates.
“They love that somebody’s willing to come and just spend time with them and let them know that they are not forgotten,” Stacey said.
She said this program is a great way for anyone to come closer to Christ.
“Even if you don’t have an addiction, the LDS Addiction Recovery Program helps us as individuals just come closer to Christ,” Stacey said. “It walks us through the repentance process. It walks us through becoming better individuals.”
For more information about the LDS Addiction Recovery Program you can visit their website.