She plans on graduating with her Bachelors of Art in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations in the fall of 2015.

Growing up as the middle child of five, Luke says she has always dreamed of becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. The road to her success was not always an easy one, for Luke. Throughout high school, she worked to save money for college but in order to pay for her college education, she decided to go into the military.

“I remember deciding to go into the military at a young age only because I come from a military family, mostly Army,” Luke said. “I decided to go into the Navy because I always wanted to be stationed on a ship and travel the world, plus they offered great educational benefits.”

Spending only three years in high school, La Traya graduated second in her class then decided to join the US Navy at the age of 17. She then spent two years stationed in Portsmouth Virginia were she work as a Hospital Corpsman. Later she finished the last three years of her military career in San Diego, California working as a Hospital Corpsmen at Marine Corp. recruit Depot before returning to her hometown of San Antonio.

“I always had a passion for continuing my education, when I decided to leave the military in 2010, I didn’t waste any time starting school. I started community college while I was still active duty on terminal leave. I went on terminal leave Tuesday and I was already applying for college that next Monday.”

In 2010, Luke started college at San Antonio College as a Radio, Television and Broadcast major. But later, with the advice of one of her professors she decided to continue her education and earn her Bachelors in Mass Communications. Two years later La Traya graduated with an Associates of Art in Radio, Television and Film Broadcasting. She transferred to UMHB in 2012 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication.

As a part of her internship, Luke will work at the Salado Village Voice office on Fridays, fitting in the learning experience around summer classes and her regular work schedule. She will spend her internship interviewing local businesses around Salado  and writing articles for the weekly edition.

“Everyone here is so great, I remember being nervous when I walked through the door for the first time but everyone is so nice they made me feel right at home,” Luke said. “I hope to learn as much as I can and use this experience to reinforce my on the job training.”