Elizabeth Spayd Turned a Leap of Faith Into a Business and a Degree

She’s the type of person who takes risks, follows her gut and embodies an entrepreneurial spirit. At 19, she emptied her savings account, took on a loan and bought a business. At 20, she rewrote her college plan.

Now, she is preparing to graduate from Aims Community College with two associate degrees: one in business management and one in marketing management. Elizabeth also completed a certificate in small business management.

Elizabeth is shaping her future as an enterprising businesswoman. Her company, Open Range Clothing Co., is a mobile boutique that travels to livestock shows across Colorado and the United States. But just a few years ago, none of this was part of the plan.

A Different Beginning

Elizabeth’s connection to Aims started early. While in high school, she took concurrent enrollment classes, balancing online and in-person coursework as a junior and senior at Weld Central High School in Keenesburg. At the time, she wanted to pursue a career in nursing. 

After high school, Elizabeth took a gap year and worked. She served as a Colorado FFA state officer. “That year stretched me in ways I never expected,” she said. “I learned a lot about leadership and responsibility and the impact one person can have on a community.” It also gave her space to reconsider what she wanted.

When she returned to school, Elizabeth resumed her nursing prerequisites, but her mindset shifted. “I realized that wasn’t where my passion truly lived anymore,” she said.

Around the same time, an unexpected opportunity appeared. Elizabeth jumped at the chance to purchase a business. At this stage in life, many young people are not prepared to take that leap of faith. Elizabeth knew taking that chance would be worth it in the end. She invested all of her savings into purchasing the business. 

“It was one of the most exciting yet terrifying decisions I’ve ever made.”

Buying the Open Range Clothing Co. led Elizabeth to choose between sticking with college and going all in on running it. With encouragement from her family and realizing that what she learned in class could actually help her grow her business, she decided to do both. Studying business management and marketing matched where her life was already headed.

Learning Business While Leading One

Switching her major was about making her education work for her in real time. Elizabeth was stepping into the classroom as a business owner, looking for tools she could immediately apply. “What I didn’t realize at the time was that Aims wouldn’t just fit into my life,” she said. “It would help shape the path I continue to walk.”

Her readings, class projects and supportive professors helped guide her approach to her company. “I found that assignments didn’t always feel hypothetical,” she said. “A lot of times, they were very practical applications to what I was doing with my business.”

Business Professor Jennifer Markiewicz has been impressed with Elizabeth and her work. “She is one of the most engaged, thoughtful, and intelligent students I have encountered, and it has been a genuine pleasure to watch her grow and flourish at Aims. I will miss her engaging presentations, but I am excited to see where her path leads. She is truly a rising star.” 

In marketing and management courses, Elizabeth redefined how she presents her brand and how it looks and feels. She honed in on customer engagement and standing out in a competitive vendor space. This included upgrading her visual presentation, the display, layout and vibe of her booth. She now sees relationship-building as a long-term asset and one of her favorite parts of the job. 

Her classes helped her think more deliberately about who her customers are. For her, the livestock shows feel less like work and more like home. “I grew up in 4-H and FFA,” she said. “Those communities helped shape who I am.” Although she knew her customers, thinking more strategically about her audiences helped Elizabeth make meaningful changes, such as tailoring products and messaging to them. The shift in mindset from “these are my people” to strategically serving that audience was a game-changer. 

“The classroom became a testing ground,” Elizabeth said. “It’s a place to bounce ideas off my professors before applying them directly to Open Range.” That kind of feedback loop, learning something in class, applying it in her business, then bringing those results back for discussion, gave her an experience that went beyond traditional coursework. 

“Elizabeth is a powerhouse,” Markiewicz said. “She not only absorbed material from her business and management courses but also enriched discussions by sharing real-world examples from her own business. She consistently demonstrated how she observes and applies key concepts in practice.” 

Sarah Daly, an instructor in business and accounting, concurs. Daly started teaching at Aims after 20 years working in the private sector and was energized by having a student like Elizabeth in her strategic management course this semester. “Elizabeth is exactly the type of student I was hoping to meet at Aims,” Daly said. “I have been very impressed by her writing and analysis and I love hearing how her experience being a business owner applies when we are having discussions on strategy.” Daly also found that Elizabeth’s presence was personable and had leadership qualities. “I know how she works so well with everyone in the class and is willing to step up and lead when necessary.

With a schedule that often took her across state lines, Elizabeth needed flexibility backed by support. At Aims, she found instructors who understood her reality and worked with her to stay on track. Whether she was in the classroom or behind the counter at a livestock show, she remained fully engaged in her coursework. Daly found Elizabeth to be “very professional and let me know up front her situation running a business and that it would impact her attendance. She then worked to make up work as necessary and was always fully engaged.”

Elizabeth demonstrates that business ambition and education can coexist by successfully integrating both. “Aims didn’t just fit into my life,” she said. “It helped me build a path.” Further reflecting on her education, she’s appreciative of the college’s openness to students charting their own journeys and achieving their dreams. 

“It allows students to take risks, to pivot when their passions shift and to grow into leaders.”

What Comes Next

Elizabeth is stepping into her next chapter with real-world experience backed by a formal education. She sees her accomplishment as more than just degrees. “They represent choosing not to quit,” she said.

This summer, Elizabeth will be back on the road, traveling from show to show with Open Range Clothing Co. After graduation, she can be more focused on building her business with a clearer vision for growth. “I’m stepping into this next season of my business not just with experience, but with a whole lot of education to back me up,” she said.

For Elizabeth, graduation isn’t the finish line. It’s the next step forward.