Category: College

[posted by Matt Brown]

As it has been said before, Luke was somebody that you never forgot – not easily, anyway. I had the privilege to know Luke when he was a bratty trouble making Freshman (I say this only out of love) at CUA. I was Luke’s RA his Freshman year in Flather Hall.

It took me two years to be comfortable enough to share this since his death; mainly, because, there is still a bit of shock. I was scrolling through Facebook when Allison (whom I have never met – Hello!) posted lukegarrison.com. I feel compelled to tell this short story. To some, it will be meaningless. To many, including his daughter, Lucy, and Allison, I hope it provides a good laugh and insight on who the young Luke was.

It was Luke’s first day moving into Flather Hall, August 2012. I remember meeting his very gracious parents, as they helped Luke move in. From what I remember, I believe I assisted Luke with his belongings, as well. That evening, all of the RAs were to call their respective residents from their assigned floors (5th floor) for a meeting explaining the general rules of living on campus at CUA. I remember standing on top of a tv console in the first-floor “hang out” area shouting to the noisy and antsy freshmen. Luke was almost directly in front of me. I noticed him pretty quickly … mainly, because Luke wouldn’t stop talking. He interrupted. Asked silly questions. I remember him, to some extent, “putting on a show” for the rest of the residents (which, later on, would explain his love of acting, very literally, putting on a show). I remember thinking … “Fantastic. This kid will be the pain in my ass for the year.” I remember telling him to stop, listen, stop, listen, stop, listen. He kept interrupting me.

For most of that first year, Luke became more than that annoying bratty antsy Freshman. I had the privileged to see him grow up. For those that work, or have worked, in student affairs/residential life, you know the growth that takes place between Freshmen and Sophomore year. Luke’s growth was substantial. Mainly, because I got to know who Luke was. Luke, who unlike many on that floor (who I still have love for), was an old soul with more maturity than I had originally thought.

After the years, after I graduated, we didn’t talk as much; but, when I think back to being an RA in Flather Hall for the 5th floor, Luke is one of the first people I think of. That memory alone puts a smile on my face.

God Bless, Luke.

[posted by Bobby Gallagher]

One of my first memories of Luke happened during the first semester of my sophomore year at CUA in Sweet Charity. I had only transferred from Vocal Performance to Musical Theater one semester prior. And looking back, besides some faculty, not many of my peers and new classmates saw me as anything but the awkward kid who tried too hard. I remember one night after a rehearsal for Sweet Charity, somehow I ended up at the trailers on campus where the seniors lived, and Luke was there also. It made sense for Luke to be there because he always knew how to make the right connections and to be the light of any friend circle he chose. But for me? For me it made no sense. I was like a baby deer in headlights. On top of that I was nervous as all get out. I tried to make some jokes that were a mediocre 6/10 and just awkwardly tap dance out of the room. But that’s not what happened. That night Luke said something that will always stay in my heart. It’s frankly insane how one short conversation can change your life. So, we were talking about something for a few minutes and then he said,

“You know, Bobby, even though you’re kind of weird, you’re pretty great. If people here took a little time to see past the awkward exterior they would see that you’re pretty awesome!”

And that stuck with me.

He was one of the first classmates to see me as more than an awkward kid. And from then on, he introduced me to all the seniors and juniors and they became my friends, and over the next several weeks I had felt like I had a whole new family of my classmates. He took a minute to see who I was and that changed me. And over the course of the year I was included in so many things that I know never would have happened before, and it was amazing.

So, each year all the students are entered in a student lottery to get numbers to select housing. I was frankly struggling to find a group of people who wanted me to be a part of their rooming plan and didn’t know what I would do. I got my lottery number and it was close to 200, which means I wouldn’t have any leverage in getting a good housing assignment to include people with. And I was really upset about that and started to think “What did I do wrong to not have anyone who likes me enough to think of me as someone who is a real friend? Why can’t I find a group of people who wanted to live with me?”

But one day, Luke and his other two roommates James, and Connor, decided to talk to me about housing. They asked me to be a part of their group and live with them. That blew me away. Throughout the year I became friends with Luke and his group, but I never thought I would be remotely thought about for anything like this. To me Luke was the coolest kid in school and practically had the entire Music School wrapped around his finger (both statements are absolutely true) and it would be crazy if I was actually, truly, friends with someone that cool and on his game. But he thought otherwise. He asked me to live with him and the guys. I couldn’t have been happier. And then we decided to research the apartments off campus and ended up having one of the most amazing apartments I’ve ever lived in for two years. Full of memories, growth, and love. I will always remember the day he asked me to be a part of his group. Because no matter what number anyone else got, I won the student lottery!

[posted by Anna]

I didn’t know Luke very well, and I didn’t know Allison at all at the time, but Luke and I were in a horrible gen ed English class on Greek Mythology. It was a 300 person lecture class with essays every week and it was interminably boring. I was a freshman at CUA and I hated it. Luke and Anna Murray were upperclassmen at the time and I could tell from the first interaction how inseparable they were. I was pretty timid around them because of how self assured and confident they were, but they both went to great lengths to make me feel welcome and included me in their group study and mid-class conversations. One day, Luke started coming in with a duffel bag, and I didn’t ask why until one day when he went racing out of class with the bag and didn’t come back for a few minutes. When he walked back in, he said “false alarm!” to the relieved laughter of many in the class. I was surprised how many people he knew and how his energy seemed to be infectious to so many. After class he told me that he’d been walking around everywhere with this bag because his fiancé was pregnant and he needed to be ready to hop on a plane at any point. He had gotten a call and thought it was time but it turned out to be something else. I didn’t know him well, but I’ll never forget how happy and loving he looked when talking about Allison and how unbelievably excited he was for Lucy’s birth. There was never any doubt how much he loved them, so much so, that it was shining all over his face. It was a really beautiful moment.

[posted by Allison]

One of my earliest memories I have of him is from my freshman year at Catholic University. He was a sophomore and we had only met a few times before I came down with a bad case of strep throat and had to miss several of my classes in my first few weeks. Luke texted me and told me he was coming over to my dorm, and he skipped two of his own classes to be with me and take care of me. He brought me medicine and soup from the school store and just sat with me as we watched youtube videos of people singing. I made him show me videos of him in Les Mis and was so blown away by that beautiful voice. I remember looking at him, sitting there laughing with me and being with me as I was lying there, no make up, feverish, homesick, and thinking “wow what kind of guy would do this for someone he barely knew?” He left for a class and came back later while I was sleeping and left a salt shaker he stole from the cafeteria for me so that I could gargle and help heal my throat. He had snuck it into his pocket and later told me he had a puddle of salt left in there and he also got it all over our floor, but it was totally worth it. He left a note that said he’d be back after class. This memory reminds me of how generous he was, to complete strangers like he was to his closest friends and family. It reminds me of how he would stop at nothing to help someone in need, and how compassionate he was to anyone who was suffering or having a hard day.

About a week later he ended up getting strep throat too, probably from me since he was with me an entire day, and I took him to urgent care and sat with him in the waiting room. When his name was called they said “family only” could come back and the waiting room had a somewhat sketchy downtown DC urgent care vibe to it, so he told them I was his wife so they would let me come back with him! I couldn’t believe they didn’t even question it and that he didn’t just say “sister” or something but jumped right to wife. We joked about that two years later, that somehow he already knew that we would end up getting married when he blurted out that I was his wife. This strep throat incident ended up being the foundation of our friendship in college and gave me such a clear idea of how generous and wonderful this guy really was.