Luke Gibson of Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

Luke Gibson is a student in the pre-engineering program at SIPI. When not in class, he serves his school as a math tutor for the academic coaching center. When not at school, her works part-time for Walmart, stocking food in a freezer for 11-hour shifts so food can be sent out to every Walmart in the region. After Luke gets his pre-engineering certificate, her plans to transfer to the University of New Mexico to complete a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. One day Luke hopes to move back to the Navajo Nation to establish a team of Navajo architects, engineers, lawyers, and contractors to tackle the modern problems on the reservation. He also plans to continue to give back to his community because that is what a good leader does.

In his spare time, Luke runs a part-time entertainment business. His company is called “491 Entertainment.” Their mission is to shed light on reservation entrepreneurs through community events. Luke’s pride and joy is their annual Rez Ball Showcase, where they play a basketball tournament at his family’s rodeo arena. The goals are homemade, the courts are made of dirt, and they also have a volleyball tournament. Luke uses his own money to purchase custom jerseys made by Rodell Denetso. Denetso made the jerseys for the Rez Ball movie on Netflix to go to the champion teams in the men’s coed team. This event is a strategic opportunity to bring the community together to donate school supplies for students, enjoy live entertainment from local artists, and partake in the deep-rooted culture of rez ball. Luke is also a reservation rapper that goes by the name of “L.O.G Rez” and his DJ happens to be his cousin, Gregory.