Lucas Dodson

Student

“Coming to SMC gave me stability. I’ve been out on the street and homeless, and that’ll never happen again.”

The knock on the door that he’ll always remember came in September 1992. “My dad was in construction, and it was a real dry time for building. I was heading out the door for school,” recalls Lucas Dodson, “and there was a marshal, telling us we had five days to clear out.” What followed was a father and son doing all they could to keep a roof over their heads. Unfortunately, 1992 wasn’t ‘dry’ in another sense. “We lived in a trailer, but the big storms came and we had to move into my van for three weeks,” says Lucas. But finally things began to turn around for Lucas and the father he calls “my best friend.”

“I’m working in a dry cleaners to pay for studying art, and it’s not easy to make the money for books and classes,” he says. “But at least now we’ve got a roof over our heads.” Lucas and his dad live in the Valley which makes for a long daily commute to SMC. “But it’s sure worth the drive to be able to study here. I’ve been to another college before, and there’s no comparison with SMC,” says Lucas. “I like the feeling in Santa Monica because it’s such an eclectic bunch of people in school here. And it’s more inclusive of all the different races, which is good.” But it’s also SMC’s teachers that have Lucas freeway flying on the 405.

“I’m in a great drawing class with Ms. Mattishaw,” says Lucas, who hopes to make a career in the arts and with the “positive message music” he writes. “I’m learning to draw and think in ways I’ve never thought of before. And I feel like getting my degree is good insurance against ever being back out on the street.”

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