Graduating High School Senior Luke Putney: Athlete, Musician, Philanthropist
Thousands of metro Atlanta’s high school graduates have their own stories and goals ahead of them. Aleck Ragsdale profiles one student who’s a star high school wrestler, accomplished musician, and philanthropist. And on top of that, he’s blind.
19-year-old Luke Putney has been blind since the age of 12, but he often says losing his vision actually motivated him to accomplish more with his life.
“Not all things that are bad end up being bad things. I mean blindness has been a very strange blessing for me and I’ll always view blindness as an opportunity.”
An opportunity Luke says, to overcome any stereotypes people may place on the visually impaired. Motivated by this and his strong Christian faith, Putney took an idea that began as a Christmas gift for his mother and turned it into a charity project.
“She was telling me for Christmas I was a $25 gift to help build a well in Africa. And I said ‘OK’ and I went to bed and I thought about it. I woke up in the morning, I went out to my computer and I started typing, typing, typing. My mom was like ‘what are you doing at this early hour’ and I told her I was gonna build a well.”
Luke began asking people to donate money for each of his wrestling victories. He raised just under seven thousand dollars to build freshwater wells in Sudan.
“Wrestling has totally taught me a bunch of dedication and a bunch of drive. It’s one of the most intense sports, but it’s taught me how to put the hours into something that you love and to get the prize at the end.”
Aside from wrestling, Luke is an accomplished musician.
“I’ve got an electric bass. Her name is Jenny. She’s a very very special girl.”
Like wrestling, Luke turned his love of music into another charitable venture. He helped found the Atlanta chapter of Blue Star Connection. The charity provides musical instruments to children with life threatening illnesses. Even his mother Nancy Hoddinott can’t figure out how Luke finds the time.
“He doesn’t sleep very much. He really exists in a kind of sleep deprived state. Because if he’s not wrestling, then he’s working on homework or he’s starting a charity. I mean this kid is so motivated, that I think he really suffers from not having enough sleep.”
Luke’s motivation and dedication earned him a twenty thousand dollar college scholarship from Foot Locker. John East, one of Luke’s high school wrestling coaches, called Luke an exceptional young man.
“What he means to me is people have thanked me for working with him and they’ve got it backwards. I mean he’s been the blessing to us, without a doubt. His whole attitude, his focus, his commitment; it overwhelms me.”
Luke will attend Belmont University in the fall. There he plans to major in commercial music with an electric bass emphasis.
“I just have to trust that I’m gonna do something bigger in college than I’ve done in high school. It’s always a challenge; I’m looking at my life and I’ve seen so much cool stuff and so many awesome things that I’ve been blessed with, and I don’t know what’s coming next.”
But Luke does plan to continue his charitable pursuits
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