Love at First Sight Lucas Flood '21 fell for W&L when he saw it for the first time on a family road trip, and he's found it an ideal place to study history and German.

Lucas Flood ’21

Hometown: Arlington, Texas
Majors: History, German

“I was fascinated by the long history of W&L and, after extensive research, I realized I wanted to go to W&L more than any other school I could imagine.”

~ Lucas Flood ’21

Q: Why did you choose to attend W&L?

My aunt, who was actually in the first class of women at W&L, and my uncle graduated from here in the 80s. About six years ago, my family and I were road-tripping through Virginia over the summer and my aunt convinced us to stop in Lexington to check out W&L. I immediately loved the beautiful natural setting and small-town feel of Lexington and the iconic red brick buildings of the Colonnade. I was fascinated by the long history of W&L and, after extensive research, I realized I wanted to go to W&L more than any other school I could imagine.

Q: What made you decide to study history and German?

Growing up, I always loved learning about history. For me, learning about history really means learning about every subject. Through my history major, I have learned about so many other topics, from politics and economics to physics and literature. When I first got to Lexington, I had no intention of even taking — let alone majoring in — German. I originally planned on taking Spanish as my foreign language, but after some registration mishaps during my freshman year, I came into sophomore year without foreign language credit. Due to the high demand for Spanish classes among first-year students, I had to take another language, so I enrolled in German because I had heard good things about the department. After two semesters in German language classes and a month-long mission trip in Germany during the summer before my junior year, I realized I was not ready to stop learning German after I completed my FDR requirement. I did some checking, determined I still had time to finish the major, and I have not looked back since.

Q: You’ve been on the Residential Life team at W&L for three years, now as head advisor for Gaines Hall. What are the most rewarding and the most challenging aspects of that work?

Being on the Residential Life team during a normal year can be very challenging, let alone during a pandemic. Dealing with the late nights, emotionally charged situations and constant communication required to be a successful RA has been very a challenging experience for me. However, when a resident told me how much they appreciated what I was doing as an RA and I saw the ways in which I was making a difference in the lives of those around me, I realized becoming an RA was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Q: Tell us about your work on the Student Judicial Council. What do you enjoy about that work?

I enjoy serving on the SJC because it is an opportunity to both protect the W&L community against harmful behavior and begin the process of finding ways to resolve the situation for everyone involved in a particular hearing. The work is challenging and emotionally draining, and it is almost always unnoticed by the W&L community, as all hearings are confidential. I take the role very seriously, as it entails being entrusted with making decisions that could very well impact other students for the rest of their lives. Yet the feeling of successfully balancing compassion for all students involved with the necessity of taking steps to protect the W&L community is truly unmatched.

Q: Your other extracurricular activities include serving on the College Republicans Leadership Team and playing club soccer. How do those round out your overall W&L experience?

As a College Republicans leadership team member, I had the opportunity to lead efforts to increase bipartisan partnerships with the College Democrats. I learned a lot about the importance of getting to know people from across the political spectrum and seeing each person as much more than simply a Democrat or a Republican.

On a much less political note, playing pick-up and club soccer here at W&L has been an incredible experience. Growing up, I only played on a soccer team once when I was 9, so I did not come to W&L with tons of experience. But the club team was very open to less-experienced players, and I have spent the last four years having a great time and getting a lot better.

Q: Has anyone been a mentor to you at W&L? How?

Dave Coffey, a manager at the University Store during my freshman and sophomore years at W&L. “Mr. Dave” was always genuinely interested in the things I was doing and always available to provide me advice whenever I needed it. Being from Texas, W&L is a long way from home for me, so having someone who I could look up to and talk about the challenges of adjusting to college life with was very important to me.

Q: What do you hope to do after you graduate?

I hope to work for several years in Washington, D.C., before heading to graduate school for history.

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