2022 Students of Distinction
Lukas Bock excels in sports, academics, volunteer work
Gig Harbor Now is posting profiles of each of the 25 Students of Distinction being honored by the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation. The students will be honored during a banquet from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at Ocean5, 5268 Point Fosdick Dr.
Student: Lukas Bock
School: Peninsula High School
Category: Community Service
Except for one pesky A- he got as a freshman, Lukas Bock has been a straight A student all through high school. That A- motivated him to get all As after that, he said.
“I had set a goal of maintaining a 4.0 GPA for my whole high school career. I didn’t meet that goal in my first semester, but I kept trying my hardest to achieve it.”
He wound up with a 3.993 GPA, definitely good enough to be accepted to Gonzaga University this fall to study chemistry or biology, in preparation for becoming a physician, possibly in sports medicine.
Lukas Bock
Backpacks 4 Kids
As he worked to get straight A’s Lukas still made time to play football and soccer, and sports turned out to be his favorite thing in high school, creating strong friendships and memories. He was elected captain of each team he played on, and earned a scholar athlete award in high school soccer.
But the thing of which he’s most proud is the many hours he spent volunteering with the Port Orchard Rotary and with Food Backpacks 4 Kids.
“Food Backpacks 4 Kids works like a food bank and provides food for families in need on the Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor,” he said. A typical day includes transporting and storing food received from food drives, donations and the Emergency Food Network.
“I joke that I’ve gotten really good at Tetris,” he said with a smile, “because every week we get more food that needs to be stored safely and efficiently.”
He also volunteered in the summer lunch program, helping make more than 100 lunches every day and delivering them to local parks. Volunteering during the summer also gave him an opportunity to meet many other community members.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself and a lot about my communities through my volunteer experiences,” he said.
Leadership style
His work has been of great value to the Food Backpacks 4 Kids program, said Zaida Woodworth, head of the organization. “His work helps us provide more than 60-pounds of healthy food to more than 200 families on the Key Peninsula and in Gig Harbor. Lukas helps organize, rotate and manage our intake and distribution of 10,000 pounds of food every week.
“He has a kind, innate leadership style that enables him to work seamlessly with people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. He leads by example and is always encouraging to others.”
Adjusting to the shutdown created by the pandemic was a big challenge for Lukas at first because nearly everything he enjoyed suddenly was no longer available.
“It was more of a mental challenge because I felt like I was doing the same thing over and over every day and I like having excitement and new experiences,” he said.
But the pandemic also provided an opportunity for Lukas to get back in touch with his musical side and start playing the piano again, which, up until ninth grade, had been an important part of his life. He has always loved music and likes playing classical and jazz, especially swing. Music has taught him the value of perseverance and preparation, he said.
Lukas’s advice to younger students is to “set your goals high, try your hardest to achieve those goals and do not be afraid of failure. Failure is a good tool for learning. People think that failure is bad, but without it, we would not have success. I have failed many times, but I’ve also had a lot of success.”
Lukas Bock
School: Peninsula High School
Category: Community Service
GPA: 3.993
Parents: Sue and Chris Bock
Activities/Accomplishments: Volunteers with Port Orchard Rotary Club and Food Backpacks 4 Kids; Straight A’s all four years, Running Start, extra credits through Central Washington University; Football – grades 9 and 10; club and school soccer – all four years, team captain for all sports, scholar athlete for high school soccer.
Favorite teacher: Mr. Newton: “I took chemistry and AP physics from him. I want to major in chemistry and I owe some of that to Mr. Newton. The projects we did were always engaging and challenging and I truly had a lot of fun. I also appreciated how much he pushed me to challenge myself. He encouraged me to take his AP Physics class, knowing that I needed the science credit. That class was one I earned college credit for and it truly was a great experience.”
Best thing about PHS: Sports. “I had the opportunity to play multiple sports and the approach to each game for each sport is unmatched. Each program is built on the fact that, as student athletes, school always comes first for us. Also the bonds that were created for each member of the team was truly inspiring to see. If a new student at Peninsula asked me how to meet more people and find friends, I would tell them to play a sport. Sports are a great outlet for students to be stress-free and do what they love, and the sports at Peninsula are truly great.”