Colorado State University

Personal tragedy brought Luke Davis to Colorado State University. While life dealt him a difficult hand, he persevered and created a community here, learning to process grief and leaning on friends and mentors to help see him through.

He will graduate in May with a degree from the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, and he plans to enter the workforce after graduation.

In 2018, when Davis was finishing high school in St. Charles, Missouri, family violence upended his life and that of his five siblings. His mother was convicted in the homicide of his father, and Davis and four of his siblings, including his twin brother, were forced to start a new life in a new place – Colorado Springs – under the care of his maternal grandparents.

Davis’ grandparents – whom he credits as “amazing people” ­– were the ones who introduced him to CSU, as they had several family members who had attended. “I just hoped for the best and applied,” Davis said.

Always a science-minded student, Davis had originally been interested in pursuing veterinary medicine. But halfway through his first year at CSU, he decided to switch gears and open himself up to other fields, choosing microbiology as a versatile base. Taking MIP 150, Introduction to Research Methods, solidified his desire to complete the challenging major and gain research experience.

“It was not the type of class where they hold your hand,” Davis said. “They push you to see if this is what you really want to do.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life on campus and beyond, Davis became a research assistant in the lab of Professor Mark Zabel, where he assisted the team doing the campuswide saliva screening that was critical to keeping the university open and functioning. Davis later joined the lab of Professor Carol Wilusz, who, along with Associate Professor Susan DeLong in engineering, led the campus wastewater surveillance testing program for COVID-19. Learning about the analysis side of wastewater testing, Davis also got to go out in the field with senior researchers, participating in sample collection and learning the process from start to finish. “That was really cool, and a good experience,” he said.