Luke Crosby is the son of Rock Hill Police Officer Mathew Crosby who was catastrophically injured in the line of duty on April 8, 2010. Officer Crosby was shot while responding to a domestic dispute, resulting in paralysis from the chest down. Our assistance to families of catastrophically injured public safety officers includes covering tuition and educational costs from day care through university. Luke recently graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology earning a Master of Engineering and Biomedical Engineering degree.
Luke has spent the last five years diligently studying and maintaining a grueling workload all while in the midst of a global pandemic. Luke got to experience firsthand the life of an engineer student during the unprecedented time of COVID-19. Luke recalls what that time was like, “One of the biggest challenges I faced in college was taking online classes freshmen year due to COVID. Not being able to attend lectures in person made it hard to focus and be motivated to study. Once classes resumed in person the next year, however, I began enjoying the subjects much more and took a lot of interest in some of my classes, leading me to decide to get a master’s degree. Something that has motivated me is those classes that I began really enjoying and pushed me to try harder so that I could start a good career after college.”
Earning any level of an engineering degree is no easy feat, but Luke decided to aim high even though that was not his initial plan. “Achieving my master’s degree is what I am most proud of currently, since I just wrapped up the last of my classes. I did not originally plan to get my master’s but am glad I did, and I think it will help me down the line in looking for jobs to start my career.”
Luke’s hard work and perseverance have granted him a season of well-deserved relaxation. The future looks bright for Luke, and we are very proud of his accomplishments and looking forward to seeing what the next chapter holds.
“I want others to know that BackStoppers is an amazing organization that has been helping my family since I was little. It was amazing that they were able to help us with my college, and we are all very grateful. Everyone who works at BackStoppers is amazing, and I am so glad that they can help other families of first responders.”
“I want to give a huge shout out and thank you to BackStoppers for their continued support of my family and me. It is because of them that Luke graduated college with zero student debt, giving him a giant leg up in the start of his adult life. The support they give to officers who are catastrophically injured or killed in the line of duty is unmatched by any organization. They currently assist numerous catastrophically injured officers and their dependent children and unfortunately will have to assist many more families in the future. I hope and pray that you will consider donating to them or creating your own fundraiser on their behalf. Thank you again for all your support! And again, way to go Luke!” – Officer Mathew Crosby
