For years, Cal Poly student Luke Hansen planned to follow in his mother’s footsteps and become a chiropractor. He watched as his mother, a longtime chiropractor in Arroyo Grande, California, provided lifetime wellness care to patients of all ages. 

Hansen, who has always been fascinated by anatomy, was accepted in 2021 to Cal Poly’s kinesiology program. Then, seven days before his graduation from Arroyo Grande High, his mother, Laura Millis-Hansen, lost her battle with leukemia. 

In the years that followed, Hansen had to move out of his childhood home, lost the bulk of his financial support and saw most of his remaining family leave the area. But through it all, Hansen has used his passion for his pursuits as a driver toward success. 

This perseverance and determination through hardship is what led Hansen to receive this year’s Courtney Elizabeth Smyth Memorial Scholarship.

The $10,000 scholarship was established in 2000 to honor the memory of Cal Poly business student Courtney Elizabeth Smyth, whose short life was marked by a spirit of resilience in the face of adversity. 

Over the years, scholarship awardees have collectively created a humbling and inspiring legacy of perseverance and commitment to maintaining academic progress. 

“I feel very strongly about my pursuits,” Hansen said. “I’m not going to let what happened to me tear me apart. I use it as motivation to keep going. I will overcome this.”  

He credits his outlook to his mother, who decided to have him skip sixth grade. His first day of seventh grade, the prospect of making new friends in a new school was overwhelming, and his mother told him she had made a mistake. 

“No,” Hansen recalls, “you did not.” He told her, “I will get through this.” 

Hansen attended high school graduation in 2021 — he was a valedictorian, and he dedicated his speech to his mother.  

For two years after his mother’s death, he continued to live at home and care for his younger brother, who has Down syndrome and is non-verbal, while commuting to Cal Poly. 

Then his father, from whom he is estranged, sold their house, and Hansen moved in with family friends. He has relied on an extensive local network, both on and off campus, for support and to connect him to resources like Cal Poly Cares, CalFresh and Medicare. 

At Cal Poly, Hansen has excelled academically, making the dean’s list eight times. In addition to his major, he is pursuing an Italian minor and teaches an anatomy lab at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria on Saturdays. 

Hansen has become an instrumental peer leader at every level of anatomical programming that the university offers, said biological sciences lecturer Michael Jones, director of the university’s Human Anatomy Lab.  

Jones first met Hansen while teaching a lab section of the Human Anatomy and Physiology (BIO 231) course. Hansen didn't just stand out physically — he's a few inches shy of 7 feet tall — but because of his vivacious personality and zest for life. 

“Luke is happy to be wherever he is, every day, and it’s infectious,” Jones said. “He also happens to have a beautiful mind, he is genuinely a natural leader, and his spirit of moral character is unparalleled.” 

Under Jones’ direction, Hansen served as student director for the Learn by Doing Lab Teaching Practicum (SCM 302), where he trained other undergraduate students (self-dubbed “Anatomy Ambassadors”) to design and deliver human anatomy lessons to local high school students by using the university’s cadaver donations. 

Hansen is also a founding member and interim president of Cal Poly’s Creative Anatomy Club, which uses artistic expression to learn more about anatomy. Under his leadership this year, the CAC partnered with the Latinx Cultural Association to share their love and knowledge of anatomy and culture as they collectively celebrated Día de los Muertos with face painting. 

In addition, Hansen has worked as a student assistant with the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics’ Adaptive Paddling Program, which uses kayaking to connect kinesiology students with community members who have physical disabilities. The community reminds him of his brother. 

Hansen’s goals for following his mother’s path have changed a bit: He still wants to become a doctor but is seeking to pursue a career in primary care so he can serve a broader range of people, including those with disabilities.  

“I’ve seen the way she impacted the community — how she healed people. I still feel so much inspiration from her and still feel support from her,” Hansen said. 

Now nearing the end of his Cal Poly journey, Hansen is waiting to hear from several medical schools throughout California. His connection with the Central Coast will endure, as he hopes to return to San Luis Obispo County to give back to the community that has shown him so much support.