Hometown: Northridge, CA
Major: Civil Engineering
University: Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
Our STEM scholarship winner, Luke Pennington has always been very passionate about STEM education. Even as a little kid, his favorite subjects in school were science and math. Luke’s love of STEM subjects continued as he was able to take even more STEM classes. He also discovered he was very good at technical subjects. Luke says his greatest academic achievement (so far) is graduating high school with a 4.34 GPA!
Fun Fact: Luke was able to buy his first car before he got his license! He was able to do this, because he was always very conscientious with his money.
Luke says his parents as his biggest inspiration! His parents instilled in him great values and are always there to help. His dad is an accountant and was a great help with his math homework and other STEM related classes. His mother is very crafty and know her way around power tools. She taught Luke how to build things, which lead to him to getting a job as a maintenance manager at his church and motived him to pursue a degree in civil engineering. Luke hopes to become a civil engineer. He wants to design safe and stable buildings for areas the often undergo natural disasters, like earthquakes, and to be able to create affordable housing for people in need.
Luke’s advice for young students wanting to pursue a career in STEM is to just go for it and not worry about making mistakes! He says persistence is key- the majority of STEM related activities require you to try unusual and creative techniques and many times trial and error is the only way to find what you are looking for.
