To meet Centralia High School senior Luke Mayer is a memorable experience; you notice quickly that he’s a young man with both feet planted in the present and his eyes trained on the future. He grew up on the outskirts of town, attended Raccoon Grade School, and then stepped fully into the Orphanage. “Everybody knows everybody,” Luke said of Centralia. “You go to Walmart and see 20 people you know.” To him, that sense of connection is more than a quirk of small-town life—it’s a network of accountability and support that extends from neighbors to teachers.

Luke’s sister graduated three years ago, so the Mayer family is nearly ready to embrace the “empty nester” stage. For Luke, that means weighing next steps. He’s considering Murray State, where his sister studied, or the University of Illinois if he’s accepted. “Either finance or engineering,” he said of his future path. “I still haven’t decided yet.” Both options make sense given his academic load. He’s taking an AP Physics class, honors pre-calculus, statistics, electricity, and accounting—“like five math classes right there,” as he put it. He admits he didn’t take statistics by accident. “I definitely took it for the dual credit,” he said, laughing, though he hopes the class provides insight into real-world problem solving.

The roots of his interests trace back through his family. His grandfather and father both run a mechanical engineering business in Centralia. That lineage made engineering appealing, but finance carries its own allure. “Making numbers go higher sounds really cool to me,” he said, describing his dad’s passion for investing. He hasn’t yet decided which path to follow, but whichever he chooses will be built on the same traits that already define him: curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to put in the work.

That work ethic extends outside the classroom. Luke ran track for three years, competing in the 400 and 800 meters. He admits he never felt the same fire for it that some athletes do, but he valued the discipline and consistency. As a junior, however, he discovered new ways to channel his energy. “I used to be really quiet,” he said. “Freshman and sophomore years, I was in my shell. Then I started going to sports games and getting more involved.” That shift pulled him outward, into clubs and leadership. He joined FCA, ARC, student council, and earned a spot on its executive board as historian.

That role sparked a creative streak. “I started taking pictures, videos,” Luke said. A chance comment in accounting class led to his first hype video for a football playoff game. “A lot of people really liked it, and it won the competition,” he said. The project drew nearly 400 likes online and confirmed that he had an eye for telling stories through images. Since then, he’s leaned into photography. Armed with a Canon R7 and a fast Sigma lens, he covers CHS games for the school’s website. “Some of the students are like, ‘Luke has the good camera,’” he said with a grin.

It isn’t just about equipment—it’s about perspective. Luke captures the moments that build community pride, the grit on the field, the joy in the stands. He does it with the same persistence he applies to academics, often spending hours editing, adding effects, or framing the perfect shot. “It’s more annoying to go through video than pictures,” he admitted, “but I love it.”

Luke’s story is a reminder of how a small-town school can nurture both talent and confidence. Teachers like Mr. Dinkelmann, his engineering instructor, embody the personal investment Luke feels across CHS. “He definitely cares for his students—what they go into and how they turn out,” Luke said. That support system, grounded in familiarity and trust, gave Luke space to grow from the quiet freshman into the engaged senior whose images now help define school spirit.

As graduation approaches, Luke is weighing choices that will shape his life well beyond Centralia. But whether he lands in engineering labs or financial markets, he’ll carry with him the lessons of hard work, accountability, and community connection. And in the meantime, he’ll be running the sidelines at Orphan games, capturing the stories of his peers—one frame at a time.