Impact Of A Scholarship: Alexandra Lucki

As the sun set on a hot June day in Austin, Texas, in 2019, Alexandra Lucki's standout collegiate track and cross country career officially came to a close. Lucki had just made her final NCAA Championship appearance, concreting her successful legacy on Maryland's track and field and cross country teams. 

In addition to her three NCAA Championship qualifications (once for cross country, twice for track), this 2019 alumna was a two-time All-American in track, a four-time All-Academic Big Ten recipient, and UMD's track and field and cross country team captain for two years.  

Lucki's Maryland athletics career could be described as nothing short of historic. She led the Terps to numerous program firsts in team and individual track and cross country events. Yet as a young girl growing up in Toronto, Canada — a long way from Austin, Texas — Lucki didn't know what her future would hold.

"I never really had big dreams of getting a scholarship," said Lucki. "I did well in school, but I was kind of planning to just go to University around Toronto." 

Lucki played soccer and ran track for most of her childhood, though she had no significant athletic success until her last two years in high school. 

"At that point, I realized there could be an opportunity for me to continue competing at a bigger level, so I started looking towards possibly being able to go to the U.S.," noted Lucki. "I would obviously need a scholarship to make that possible."

She prioritized weather (not too hot), location (not too far from home), and academic offerings (engineering programs) during her unique college search process. Excluded from any "home-grown" U.S. recruiting, Lucki recalls sending lots of emails and filling out various online questionnaires—anything to put herself (and her running talent) on American schools' radars.

"When I got an email back from the coaches at Maryland…I began talking to them," said Lucki. "They seemed very knowledgeable and kind, so I decided to come for a visit."

Lucki and her family took a trip down to College Park during January, historically not the most charming time of the year in the Mid-Atlantic. "The grass was brown, but I still liked the big, open spaces," said Lucki. "I had a really great visit at Maryland. Everyone was welcoming and it seemed like a very close-knit, inviting team."

The track star described many fond memories at Maryland, but her time on the track and cross country teams stood out. "It was such a big team, but across all event groups it was so closely-knit," said Lucki. "Traveling to different races or even just team dinners and game nights, you kind of have 50-60 best friends handed to you when you walk on campus."

Although Lucki was an American citizen and had been to the U.S. before coming to Maryland, she appreciated the sense of home her teams could offer as she lived and learned in a new place. "The coaches were very welcoming and really cared for me as a person, not just an athlete," said Lucki. "It felt like I was given a second family."

On the academic side, Lucki was interested in civil engineering, a significant factor in her commitment to Maryland. But she was unclear about what she specifically wanted to get into beyond college. "I didn't really feel like I had a huge passion for anything," noted Lucki. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to do civil engineering in the real world."

Fortunately for Lucki, her Terrapin running timeline took an unexpected turn, forcing her to reevaluate her professional interests.

"Halfway through my fourth year, my coaches ended up redshirting me to come back for a fifth year to compete in outdoor track," said Lucki.

Her four-year academic schedule was nearly complete, but she still had to take classes to maintain athletic eligibility.

"My advisors [said], just do this minor in sustainability…and that's five classes to take for the year," said Lucki. "I signed up for those just thinking, 'whatever,' but that opportunity was really awesome."

"Those classes kind of opened up this whole other world I didn't even think I was super interested in," said Lucki. "Taking the sustainability classes and making connections to the civil engineering background that I had…made me more excited about the civil engineering stuff. Now I'm working in building sustainability."

After five years at Maryland, Lucki moved back home to be closer to family, get her Master's degree, and (mostly) keep running.

"I kind of realized as I was finishing up my fifth year that I really wanted to continue with track and field," said Lucki. "I knew I would need to mostly work with my [high school] coach or find a new coach in Canada, since post-collegiate track and cross country opportunities around D.C. were limited."

While continuing to compete, Lucki received her Master's in Environment and Sustainability from Western University in London, Ontario. "I'm still working for the company I did my co-op in, so it worked out to get me a full-time job," said Lucki. "It's definitely an adjustment trying to compete and work at the same time, but at the end of the day, I still love running."

And run she does. Lucki balances her day job at EQ Building Performance, a green building consulting firm, with her demanding competition schedule. "I've been training and still traveling all over, trying to chase the dream of competing in track and field," said Lucki. "All those things that I had to prioritize in college (sleep, recovery, fuel) are still priorities now, if not even bigger."

The runner fully embraces the lessons she learned from being a Maryland student-athlete. "My time on the track and field teams made me feel very strongly that if there's something you're super passionate about, you really put all your effort and focus into chasing down certain goals…then the hard work will get you there."

Lucki highlighted her sincere gratitude to the donors that supported her University of Maryland athletics scholarship.

"You feel really lucky to be there and everything, but with more perspective now, I feel even more grateful for that opportunity," said Lucki. "Just being able to have that great education and that great athletic experience combined… I'm very appreciative."