Born in Pontefract and raised in Castleford, Luke has built his career close to home. His academic journey began with a bridging course at Leeds College of Building, followed by a three-year HND. He then joined Leeds Beckett to, “get it topped up over two years to a full degree.”

Luke’s decision to follow the construction management pathway came naturally. “I'm an estimator, so I can either go into construction management or quantity surveying. There's not really a wrong pathway to choose,” he says. “Since I'd sort of been on the construction management pathway, it felt better to just continue on with that one than switch up all my units once I got to degree level.”

Balancing study and work wasn’t always easy. “You've got your day a week to actually go and attend your lectures and seminars… but actually then finding the time in evenings and weekends to write stuff up – that was a bit of a challenge,” Luke admits. “Luckily, my employer – my manager especially – is very receptive to giving me time to do stuff as and when needed.”

His dissertation involved interviewing six professionals via Teams, and those conversations were made possible during work hours. “Ultimately it benefits them for me to be able to get all my work done,” he says.

Luke says his studies have had a clear impact on his day job: “Estimating is very cost-focused anyway… and even on the general construction management course, it looks to cover as much as possible so that any specific role in construction is met.”

What’s stood out the most for him during his time at Leeds Beckett?

“Just getting in there and sitting in the lectures and seminars and having all that information hit me,” he says. “There's so much that you don't know. People with years of academic experience and practical in-the-field experience just sharing things that you wouldn't know unless someone explicitly told you. Even if you’re not going to use it right away, it’s all stored in there for future use.”

Next on the horizon for Luke is possible chartership with the Chartered Institute of Building – but not right away. “That might be maybe a year or two in the future,” he says. 

With a new baby on the way and a decade of balancing act behind him, Luke is looking forward to celebrating his graduation with his wife and dad, the years of hard work paying off in style.

For more information about studying BSc Construction Management, click here.