174WINTER LEADERSHIP Club Pride DAY AND KNIGHT Luke Humphrey becomes a Knights sponsor after four years as a member. LUKE HUMPHREY SERVED AS THE president of men’s social club Knights during the 2019-20 school year when he was a senior at Harding. In February 2021, he was hired by Harding as a marketing associate for university communications and marketing, moving back to Searcy after the height of the pandemic that sent him home to Nashville, Tennessee. In September 2021, Humphrey agreed to serve Knights in a different capacity as a sponsor. The fall 2021 leadership in Knights, President Sam Chester and Vice President Cody Porter, approached Humphrey about becoming a sponsor. Usually, club sponsors must wait five years after graduating before becoming a sponsor, but that did not keep Knights from pursuing Humphrey. “Luke was an obvious choice after we found that the five year removed rule wasn’t actually written in the social club handbook,” Chester said. “He played a very important role in Knights a couple of years ago, and he was more than happy to help Knights once again in a time of need.” The fall 2021 upperclassmen in Knights were freshmen and sophomores when Humphrey was president. Humphrey said the dynamic between transitioning from being a peer to a sponsor was unique. “On one hand, I feel like I’m too old to be hanging out with all the members still, but I also feel like I’m too young to be hanging out with the sponsors,” Humphrey said. Junior Adam Dawidow joined Knights when Humphrey was president and was excited to welcome him as a sponsor. “It’s nice when you have sponsors that are older and more developed, but also it’s good to have younger sponsors that recognize issues we have or things we might want that have a sentiment of current Knights instead of past Knights,” Dawidow said. Being the youngest of the five sponsors, Humphrey added a fresh face to the growing group. Alumnus and sponsor Jacob Klotz said Humphrey was in a unique position as a sponsor because of his friendships in Knights. “Luke already brings a lot to the club because he’s already established a lot of deep connections with the members,” Klotz said. “I know that he can still bring that to the guys who are thinking about pledging this year.” Humphrey’s responsibilities changed over the years within the club, and he accepted each leadership position with humility. “It’s taking some adjusting to remember that I’m not a member anymore and that I am a sponsor,” Humphrey said. “It’s unique to be in a spot where you don’t have to run the club, you don’t have to be a part of the club, you get to sit back and watch them all grow.” WRITTEN BY EMILY STINNETT MARKETER BY DAY, KNIGHT BY NIGHT Luke Humphrey works in his office in university marketing and communications. Humphrey wore personal Knights memorabilia. Photo by: Jaxon Nash
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==