Joshua Luke
It’s not every day you find someone who would trade a high-profile sports-management job to become a nursing-home administrator and take a $20,000 salary cut. Joshua D. Luke, ’94, however, is not your ordinary person.
After receiving a graduate degree from California State University, Fullerton, Luke landed a job with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. At age 26 he became a sports marketing supervisor with a major public-relations firm. Working on publicity for Mark McGuire and other sports stars, he was living his boyhood fantasy.
But Luke’s goals changed when his mother entered a nursing home. After playing cards, eating lunch, and chatting with the other residents at the care facility, Luke realized how satisfying it was to contribute to the lives of the elderly.
Luke now works as the administrator for the Carriage House Nursing Center in Fullerton, Calif. To help residents feel at home, he and his staff bake cookies and bread in the hall. “This is their home,” Luke says. “I really believe I am making more of a difference here.”
