Service and leadership drive Army ROTC graduate Luke Bowling
The mathematics major met his future wife at Carolina, joined the National Guard and helped in Hurricane Helene recovery.
After a virtual first year at Carolina due to COVID-19, Luke Bowling took a pause from his studies and joined the National Guard.
He stayed in Chapel Hill and later re-enrolled at Carolina. In October 2024, he had a chance to put the skills gained through the National Guard to work when he was assigned to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in western North Carolina.
Bowling was sent to the Boone area, while his wife, Jess, a fellow student-solider whom he met at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2020 and married in 2023, helped with Helene recovery in Waynesville through her National Guard unit. She graduated last December with a degree in exercise and sport science.
Bowling’s certification in operating heavy equipment would be put to good use in a community torn apart by the devasting impact of Helene.
“There were cars in the river — all these roads were just completely washed out,” Bowling said. “You could see where a bridge had been deposited half a kilometer down the bank from where it started. There was debris 25 feet higher on the mountainside. We did a lot of going around knocking on doors and seeing what people needed.”
Bowling also operated a backhoe to unload pallets of supplies off of trucks at the operations homebase and helped to organize the supplies.
Boone has become a special place to the native of Laurel, Maryland. He and his wife take an anniversary trip there each year. “It was really nice to help that area specifically,” he said. “The best part about being in the Guard is serving in the community.”
Bowling, a mathematics major, said all of his professors were supportive when he served his time with the National Guard. He gave special shoutouts to College faculty members Emily Burkhead, associate professor in mathematics, and Mariana Olvera-Cravioto, professor in statistics and operations research.
Carolina has taught Bowling valuable leadership skills, and he said he is especially excited about being commissioned as a second lieutenant on Dec. 14, the morning of Winter Commencement. In addition to being part of the National Guard field artillery unit in Greensboro, North Carolina, he’ll head to officer training school next spring at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
“ROTC has completely changed me as a leader. UNC has a high standard, and that pushes you,” Bowling said. “I have learned to prioritize and execute, but I’ve also found a team. I’ve found close camaraderie with my fellow cadets. We’ve stuck together.”
What kept him going when times were challenging? Bowling said it was a mindset of taking things one day at a time. He urges fellow graduates “to slow down. We have worked in a frenzy for the last few years at UNC, and fruitful work requires time for contemplation.”
Luke Bowling and his wife, Jess, are excited to welcome their first child in February. (Submitted photo)
Bowling credits his wife with being his support system as he juggled school and ROTC. The couple’s life together is about to get even sweeter. Jess is expecting their first child, with a due date of Feb. 11, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
“I’m so excited to meet the baby and to be starting a family — and to have a little more chaos in our lives,” Bowling said with a laugh.
