Luke Cecil
“I wanted to go somewhere where no one knew me and where I could be my own person, and Austin Peay provided me that opportunity.”
Major: Computer Science
Hometown: Bardstown, Kentucky
Involvement: SLA Leader, Sigma Phi Epsilon
Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, Luke Cecil graduated from high school with the same people he met in kindergarten — and it was expected that he matriculate with those same students to his hometown university. But driven by an interest in computers and a desire to see what was outside his comfort zone, Cecil said he saw Austin Peay as the perfect opportunity to grow both academically and personally.
“I had been known for my whole life as my older brother’s little brother, and I wanted to create an identity for myself outside of my hometown,” Cecil said. “I wanted to go somewhere where no one knew me and where I could be my own person, and Austin Peay provided me that chance.”
Cecil and Austin Peay have been the perfect match, as the computer science major has excelled both in and outside the classroom, joining the department’s programming team and hacking group, as well as serving as a Structured Learning Assistance leader, helping students who entered the university with an academic deficiency. Cecil is also involved in Greek life, making new friends and establishing life-long connections as a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
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“If I talked to myself two years ago and told me that I would be going to Austin Peay as a computer science major, I’d probably laugh and say that I know nothing about computers and then I’d ask what’s Austin Peay and where is it,” Cecil said. “But I did my research and I chose Austin Peay because it combined the opportunities of a large university with the one-on-one education of a private school and now I feel like I have two homes: one in Kentucky and my other home here in Clarksville, Tennessee.”
