Taking Risks Pays Off for Alumnus Luke Beatty '86

How do you demonstrate the advantages of a Graland education? 

While this is a valid question, the results are difficult to quantify in a graph or chart because the impact on a student is very individual. One way to gather information on the topic is to talk with alumni, who have the advantage of time and perspective and whose lives illustrate the fruits of a Graland education. 

Luke Beatty ’86 is one outstanding example. At AOL, he’s the head of strategic partnerships where he leads a team that seeks and builds relationships for the Fortune 1000 company. He also serves as a coach and mentor to young innovators through a startup accelerator called TechStars in Boulder.

“I love what I do,” Luke shares. “It’s about innovation. We talk about innovations and building new businesses around technology-based products that we can barely imagine.” 

In short, Luke spends his time creating and imagining possibility. 

“I work with people who are very different,” he explains. “They think differently, without limits.” 

While Luke has been very successful, he prides himself on solving problems by creating tools and solutions. “It’s not about making money, it is about transformation. For the entrepreneur, it is about invention. For the consumer it is about the usefulness of an innovation like Twitter, Snapchat, Vine, etc.”

Luke’s own career path exemplifies transformation. After completing his undergraduate work at Connecticut College, he first taught English and coached lacrosse on the east coast. Then he moved on to Harvard for graduate school. Soon after, with a bit of initiative, self-confidence and curiosity, he pursued an internship at a startup company one summer and eventually created a startup of his own, which he later sold to Yahoo.

“There are a million reasons to not do something,” he believes. “We live in a risk-averse society.” 

On the other hand, Graland creates an environment where it’s OK to try – and OK to fail. While they might not have known it at the time, Luke’s peers at Graland modeled hard work, perseverance, critical thinking and leadership under the guidance of caring teachers, coaches and parents. 

“Some of the smartest people I know are my former Graland classmates,” Luke says. “I know what hard working, intelligent people look like and how they execute. I saw them first in my classes at Graland.”

Being a student at Graland wasn’t always easy for Luke, who nonetheless believes that various challenges allowed him to leave Graland with a full portfolio of skills. Most importantly, the desire to learn and the knowledge of how to go about it have taken him further than he ever imagined.

These days, Luke finds himself back on the Graland campus. He’s now a Graland parent, giving his young son the same advantages of an amazing education and a life of possibilities.