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The Dream Deferred

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Hello there:

For those of you who do not know me or of my work, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Willi Lucker. For six years now I have lived in New Orleans and am just now finishing up my senior year at Benjamin Franklin High School. Three years ago I became an active member in the local political happenings of my city and developed a love of public policy and political activity. Along with my personal endeavors in the political realm I have also been an active participant in academically rigorous programs for cultural and political awareness in hopes of bettering my ability to be of service to my fellow man and community.

I was recently given the opportunity to attend the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington DC. This school has a highly regarded set of programs taught by nationally and internationally renowned instructors near the heart of Embassy Row in Northern DC, giving me access to unparalleled levels of international, cultural, and political connections in addition to my intended academic studies in Political Science, Economics, and Criminal Justice. For a student as intent on going into a lifelong career of public service as me, this school presents the perfect opportunity for me to grow as a student and a leader.

Being accepted into this school is certainly a one of a kind chance for me. However, like anything as great and as lucrative for my future as this, there is a need for payment. My goal is a fairly outrageous one, I will be honest with you, but hopefully it also reflects the lengths I am willing to go in order to truly take advantage of American's expert programs and excellent location. I wish to raise $25,000 to help fund my tuition for freshman year. I specify my freshman year because, for my remaining years at American, I will be qualified for so many great scholarship programs and most likely have a job to help me pay for whatever parts of my tuition which are not covered by my Financial Aid, making my first year of tuition payments really the only thing standing between me and attending my first choice college and having the privilege of living in what has become one of my favorite cities.

As of right now, I am not giving up on my dream, though I will not be able to attend American for my freshman year. I still intend to keep up my fundraising efforts in hopes of being able to fund as much of my tuition as possible, provided I find myself in a position to transfer to their campus. 

I ask that you consider making a donation, or rather, an investment, in my future as a leader. If at all possible, I also ask that you please share this information with anyone you think might be interested in learning more about my goals or make a donation. Thanks for your help!

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I'd like to add a bit about Willi. I had a chance to reconnect with Willi, and meet his father, Mark, while attending a conference last week in New Orleans. This was the first time I'd seen Willi since last summers JSA program at Georgetown. Willi was a standout student in that class...and sitting down with him, again, reassured me that this was a student who has a promising future ahead of him. It was not only a pleasure to have Willi in class last summer, but to see him today grow and seek out his own candidacy as a scholar at American University is confirmation of my previous assessment of his tremendous potential. Willi Lucker is a worthy candidate, and one with great leadership potential. Best of luck, Willi.

Dr. William Huddy, Adjunct Professor of Speech Communication, Metropolitan State University - Denver.

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Who knows where a dream starts?

When Willi was in elementary school, he would bring home history books and computer strategy games about the Roman Empire from Scholastic book fairs. When he was in the sixth grade, we visited a Barnes and Noble so Willi could use a gift card he had received. The sales woman kept trying to direct him away from the history section over toward the kid books, but Will was having none of it. I finally had to assure her that he was where he wanted to be and that he knew exactly how he wanted to spend his money. Such experiences were commonplace for us.

Maybe that was where his aspirations to public service began to take shape. I can pinpoint where they began to gain serious momentum: the summer of 2011.

I had been asked by our local teacher's union to attend the annual AFT Teach convention in Washington, D.C. to be part of a roundtable group on charter schools "“ on their tab. I talked the union into paying me mileage in lieu of airfare, and with that we were off as a family to D.C.

For four days, while I was at the convention, Willi, my wife and younger son Sam traversed the capitol city. The Smithsonian, the Spy Museum, the U.S. senate gallery were among the highlights of their days, by night we walked a great deal and took in the sights of D.C. at night, passing through the American University campus and prompting Will to consider the opportunities he would have if he could go there.

Now, he has his chance.

We stayed an extra day post-convention and took in the war and presidential monuments and Arlington National Cemetery as a family. It was extraordinary, Willi was transfixed. The Jefferson Memorial in particular was a noteworthy and lengthy, soak-it-all-in stop.

His profile picture on this site is one I snapped on a whim, as I saw Willi looking at the capitol, and I asked him to doff his hat "“ mostly as a joke. But it has become one of my favorite shots, and hopefully prophetic.

He is a unique individual with a unique opportunity. Along with Willi, I thank you for any support.

Mark Lucker, Willi's dad.

Organizer

Willi Lucker
Organizer
New Orleans, LA

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