A collection of features and graduate profiles covering Harvard’s 375th Commencement.
Blake Lusty grew up sure of two things: He wanted to serve his country in the Navy, and he would always fight for what he believed in. A late-stage cancer diagnosis at age 20 only steeled his resolve.
The first in his family to pursue a college education, Lusty was raised by his mother in St. Petersburg, Florida.
“Mom worked incredibly hard to make ends meet, often working multiple jobs,” he said. Through it all, she encouraged him to consider the wider world, saying, “Think about the time we have and how we can make a difference.”
Lusty volunteered at a Veterans Administration hospital near his home as a teen and spent a lot of time with his grandfather, who as a Canadian farm boy had worked on early iterations of reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II. Those experiences convinced Lusty that military service was his calling.
