Luke was encouraged to apply to Johns Hopkins SAIS after meeting with the school’s Southeast Asia faculty. At first Luke was initially more interested in the qualitative curriculum, but recognized backing that with a rigorous quantitative skill set would be very important for understanding policy discussions.

Prior to attending graduate school, Luke worked in economic development at World Business Chicago and Metro Chicago Exports while earning an MBA at the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. During that time, he took a semester off to teach business strategy and finance at the National University of Management in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

At Johns Hopkins SAIS, he is the Co-Chair of Indonesia Corner sponsored by the Indonesian Embassy. Events have included a discussion with the Indonesian president’s special envoy for climate change, and a panel on the 50^th anniversary of ASEAN with diplomats from the Thai, Philippine, and Indonesian embassies. Luke also spent both winter breaks in Indonesia for language study through grants from the Southeast Asia Studies department. After graduating, Luke is considering a career either in the military, consulting, or in public policy.