ABOVE: Kenny Lacy also enjoys coaching sports.
At age 27, Kenny Lacy says life is turning out pretty good. He’s working in his dream job, has a daughter and is about to be married.
You last were featured in “More Good News” in January 2012. How has life changed for you in the last 11 years?
Life has changed quite a bit. I’ve graduated high school and college, had a child, got engaged, became a homeowner and got my dream job.
Back in 2012, you said you were going to go to Syracuse University. You did. How was your college experience.
College was everything I wanted and more. I made lifelong friends, had once-in-a-lifetime experiences and learned so many things that helped shaped the person I am today.
You said you wanted to become a sports broadcaster or a crime scene investigator. You’re now a sportswriter for the syracuse.com and The Post Standard. What is being a sports reporter like, and do you enjoy it?
I absolutely love my job. Being a sports reporter is an actual dream. Being paid to attend games and ask the important questions that everyone cares about and deliver that news to the public is something that I truly enjoy.
Do you still hope to be a broadcaster and what would be your dream job?
I think my broadcasting dreams have changed at this point. Rather than being a play-by-play guy I think I’d rather be a writer that also does sports talk TV like Michael Wilbon or Tony Kornheiser. At this point I’d say my dream job would be to cover the Syracuse University basketball team full time.
So, what happened to becoming a crime scene investigator?
AP Chemistry class my junior year of high school happened! In all seriousness, I still think it’s something I could have enjoyed doing, but after experiencing that class I’m not sure if I could have envisioned myself taking nothing but science classes for four years in college.
Talk about things changing in 11 years. You have a 4-year-old daughter and are engaged to be married. How has fatherhood changed you and your perspective on life?
Fatherhood has certainly changed my perspective on life. Having a person that relies on you for everything certainly changes your outlook on life fast. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my daughter, and I thank God every day that he blessed me with my beautiful little family.
When you were in our parish, you were an altar server and lector. What do you remember most about those days?
I remember the pride I used to have in being part of Mass whenever I was scheduled as a server or lector. I’m the type of person that loves being involved with things, so being able to contribute to Mass was something I always looked forward to.
How has being a parishioner shaped your life?
Being a parishioner shaped my life in so many ways, but I’d say the biggest way it did was by teaching me to always keep faith and trust God. I had to take many roads to get to where I am today, but due to my faith I never doubted the paths I had to take.
Has it been difficult keeping up the faith as you have gotten older, gone to college and now a working dad?
Unfortunately, it has been hard to keep up with my faith as much as I did when I was younger. Between working sporting events on the weekends or doing extracurricular that my daughter is involved in, it seems like there’s always something. But I still make time to make sure I thank God for all that’s he’s done and continues to do for me and my family.
What do you hope for your future and what advice would you give to young people?
For my future I hope to continue being successful in my career and for my family to continue to be happy and healthy. Advice I would tell younger people is that if you have a dream or goal, do not stop working toward it. There were plenty of times when it felt like I would never have the opportunity to be where I am now, but I refused to give up and kept my faith and now I’m working my dream job and have an amazing family and couldn’t be happier.
Kenny Lacy
- Age: 27.
- Family: Daughter Alessia, 4; Fianceé Ashley Pape, 30.
- Education: Graduated from Proctor High School in 2013; graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies.
- Employment: Sports reporter for syracuse.com / The Post-Standard; former sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch (2021-2122).
- Favorite movie: “The Lion King.”
- Favorite TV show: “The Office.”
- Favorite sport: Football.
- Favorite teams: Atlanta Falcons, Syracuse Orange, New York Yankees.
- Favorite quote: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”