Ever since he laid his eyes on an airplane cockpit as a young boy, Luke Parker knew he was destined for a career in the United States Air Force. But for Parker, being a captain in the Air Force and assisant professor in the Brigham Young University Air Force ROTC program is more than just a love for airplanes—it's also how service led to personal growth in all aspects of his life.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Parker attended the Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he studied aerospace engineering and engineering management while participating in the Air Force ROTC program. “I had really good instructors who impacted my life and made me want to stay with ROTC and commission into the Air Force,” Parker says. “ROTC gave me such a great career in life.”
After serving in places like Ohio, Florida, and the Middle East, Parker landed at BYU to teach cadets in the Air Force ROTC program, and he hopes to be the type of mentor he had. “Interacting with students has been everything I hoped for and more,” Parker says. “It keeps me young, and I love taking my experiences and passing them along to help develop the next generation of Air Force leaders and citizens of the country.”
Part of what makes his job fulfilling is learning with the cadets. Parker explains that he had to learn to be “the bearer of good and bad news” as cadets apply for positions and adjust to military standards. “I had to learn to be very tactful when talking to students,” Parker says. “I am their instructor, but I'm also the person students can rely on to express their emotions to and help them process the good and bad.”
Parker knows from experience that life can be full of ups and downs. He wanted to commission in the air force to become a pilot but then was offered a remotely piloted aircraft position instead. “It felt like it was the end of the world,” Parker explains. “Everything I had been working toward for the last four years and dreaming about for 18 years had been shut down.”
But his initial disappointment didn’t discourage Parker from staying in the Air Force. He considered the offer and researched the lifestyle, training, and mission of remote piloting. “Being informed in order to make my decision is what gave me the most peace in my decision,” Parker says.
And peace wasn’t the only thing Parker found when he ultimately decided to change course and become an acquisition officer—he also came to appreciate his new career. “I have always enjoyed problem solving,” Parker says, “and I’ve gained a lot of job satisfaction from contributing to developing cutting-edge military technology.”
As he works with cadets, Parker reminds them that every unexpected job trajectory, missed event because of deployment, or other disappointment can be used to develop unique perspectives. “If I look at everything that comes my way as an opportunity,” Parker says, “I have a better time and can usually turn it into something positive in my life.”