Looking at nursing graduate Luke Mathews' resume, one might wonder where he got his energy.
- SAUDM8 Morale Director
- SAUDM7 Co-Executive Director
- Resident Advisor
- Campus Activities Board Member
- Bridge Bible Study Leader
- Kim Possible's stunt double
- Sodexo student worker
- Did we mention nursing student?
...and that's just to name a few.
"It's just how I grew up," Luke, a Peoria, Illinois native, explained. "I have five brothers, so we had a really active household growing up. I like to stay busy and stay involved, it's just how it works for me."
The synergy of the active student life at SAU and Luke's undeniably natural charisma made for an impactful four years. Ask most Ambrosians about him and a smile or a laugh will immediately follow. Attend an event on campus and you would more than likely find him there.
When it was announced that St. Ambrose, along with most schools in the country, had to cancel commencement ceremonies for the spring class of 2020, the class was offered the alternative of walking with the winter class of 2020 or the spring class of 2021, in addition to an online celebration this week and a smaller campus event when possible.
As a nurse, Luke knows that part of the job is advocacy.
"When we got the news [about commencement], I was of course really sad, but I understood," he said. "I took a leadership course this year and we talked a lot about how to advocate not only for your patients but also for yourself."
So, Luke, along with the help of other students, created a petition encouraging the university's leaders to consider an option for a summer or fall graduation ceremony. It quickly garnered more than 2,000 signatures and yielded results. The university, barring something unforeseen, now has plans to celebrate the class of 2020 in-person either late this summer or during Homecoming weekend in late September, when the COVID-19 threat has been fully abated.
The threat of COVID-19 is something Luke has seen and experienced first-hand. He was completing the final hours of his nursing clinical work over spring break when schools began to close their doors, and hospitals began seeing a serious rise in cases. But for Luke, like all essential health-care workers, things must keep moving forward.
Luke has accepted a position at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital and will begin working in the Cardiology and Pulmonology Unit this July. Although he wasn't able to visit the unit in-person before accepting their offer, this is a place already near and dear to his heart thanks to Dance Marathon.
"It's been a dream of mine to work directly with the kiddos we help through Dance Marathon," he said.
Throughout his involvement with DM, Luke built strong relationships with these children and their families, which made a big impact on his nursing career.
"I have such a heart for service and for helping others, which is one of the many things that is so awesome about St. Ambrose," he said.
Someone who deeply impacted Luke and who also shares a heart for service is Director of Student Activities Jason Richter. Being involved in so many activities, the two got to know each other well. Luke even affectionately refers to Jason as his campus dad.
Naturally, Luke's piece of advice for current and future Ambrosians is one his campus dad would surely approve of: Get involved.
"Dance Marathon impacted my nursing career by allowing me to directly interact with the population I wanted to serve," he explained. "Bridge Bible Study gave me a chance to grow spiritually and build a faith of my own kind. In Residence Life, I got to help build a community. Everything I did impacted me in different ways. I could do it all over again, the only thing I would change would be to cherish it more."
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