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University of North Carolina Athletics
SAAC Spotlight: Luke Davis
March 26, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Student-Athlete Development
Get to know the UNC Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) representatives through our SAAC Spotlight series. This week's spotlight is on Luke Davis, a senior on the men's basketball team.
SAAC is composed of appointed representatives from each of UNC's 28 varsity teams and helps promote communication between faculty, administrators, coaches and student-athletes. SAAC members meet monthly to discuss ideas and issues pertinent to UNC Athletics, the ACC and the NCAA.
SAAC Spotlight: Luke Davis
Senior • Sociology/Communication Studies (Interpersonal) • Men's Basketball • Raleigh, N.C.
1. How did you choose your major?
Sociology has always been interesting to me. Our society is incredibly complex and it has been interesting to learn about the way it is structured and how humans interact with each other on a daily basis to form the world we live in. I decided to add a second major in communication studies because it is an area that is extremely beneficial in everyday life and building relationships with people. It is definitely a subject that I hope has helped prepared me for life after Carolina.
2. What's your favorite class you've taken at UNC and why?
Sports Psychology is a course that sticks out to me because it was something I could immediately apply to my life as a student-athlete. Growing up playing basketball my entire life, the psychological aspect never really crossed my mind. Coming to UNC and playing at such a high level brings a new perspective of how important the psychological part of the game truly is. Sports Psychology gave me a better understanding of how to use the mental side of basketball to my advantage and how I should approach the game.
3. Who is a favorite professor you've had at UNC and what did you enjoy about learning from him or her?
Favorite professor is Dr. Nels Popp who was my professor for a Sports Sales and Revenue Production course. This class was unique because it gave me hands on sales experience in an environment where I could learn and improve. What I liked most about Dr. Popp was the way he incorporated professionals he knew in the industry, and allowed us as students to interact with them and develop some fundamental training that I would not have been able to receive in a classroom setting.
4. What are your career goals?
My career goals are to enter a field that I truly enjoy being in and will have a great chance of being successful in. I want to pursue a career in which I look forward to going to work everyday and am involved with others to help make a positive impact in whatever it is I am doing.
5. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?
I would tell them to enjoy every moment while they are at UNC and to try and step outside of their comfort zone. There are so many great people at UNC including the students, professors, administrators, etc. that all want to be a part of a something special. I would tell incoming freshmen to meet new people every day and to take advantage of every opportunity you have and use all of the incredible resources here at UNC. The relationships you building during your time at UNC will last a lifetime.
6. Why did you choose UNC?
Growing up in Raleigh, NC, my lifetime dream was to play basketball at the University of North Carolina. I was fortunate enough to go to Gardner-Webb University as a freshman and be able to transfer to UNC the following year. I chose UNC because I wanted to be a part of something special, to be a part of a tradition of excellence that is recognized on a national, even global scale. I chose UNC because I wanted to learn from the best both on and off the court, and I knew that UNC would give me the best opportunity to be successful in life beyond college and would be a place that would provide me the best college experience I could possibly have.
7. Where's your favorite place to study?
Favorite place to study is the first floor of the Undergraduate Library in a cubby towards the back, next to the windows.
8. What do you think is the prettiest place on campus?
The main quad is the prettiest place on campus.
9. What does it mean to be a Division I student-athlete?
It means that I was given an incredible opportunity to represent something bigger than myself and to compete against the best athletes every single day.
10. What leadership skills have you learned while being a student-athlete at UNC?
To list just a few, being a student-athlete at UNC has allowed me to develop leadership skills such as setting an example for others and creating an image that promotes what the University you are representing truly stands for. Being a student-athlete at UNC has provided me with the ability to hold my teammates and myself accountable in positively representing UNC every single day.
11. What's the most important thing you've learned from balancing the demands of athletics and academics?
It has given me structure and has helped me understand the work ethic that is required to do be successful in every aspects of my life. Coach Roy Williams has emphasized academics in a way that has motivated our team to take pride in everything we do off the court. Because of the way he has stressed academics over athletics, we acknowledge the idea of how incredibly lucky we are to be at this university and the quality of education that we are receiving, and it is something we have truly embraced.
