Senior Profile: Lucas Bird

Sometimes it is just fun to chat with a young man who is ready to conquer the world, and sometimes you can learn a lot about life from that same young man. A few years ago I wrote about Lucas “Lead Foot” Bird as a Gem in the Coulee. He is a senior now and his dreams have morphed a bit as he matured. Here is a little bit of our conversation.

If you know Lucas at all, you know that he sometimes can appear shy, but really he is just a quiet kid who lets his actions speak for themselves. So when you sit down to do an interview, you sometimes wonder if your questions will really get answered. When I asked how his senior year was going, we really got the conversation started.

“Surprisingly easy and really fun,” Lucas replied, wearing that confident look that he always seems to have these days. “It is time consuming, but it is going really fast.”

As we spoke, the conversation moved to “overcoming” things in your life. Lucas thought for a bit and said something profound. At least it was to me, coming from a high schooler. “I think it was more about sacrifices. I had to sacrifice fun times with friends for getting my homework or projects done; stuff for school always should come first. I realized early on that school was more important than anything else.” Lucas talked about friends and classmates who maybe made one or two poor choices and that it will cost them a lot. He did not want to be one of those students who made one bad decision and have it change the rest of his life. Like I said, a profound statement.

We talked about what the future holds for the generational race car driver who once dreamed of NASCAR. “Possibly a trade school; I want to do machining but I do not want to go to a four-year school; that’s not my cup of tea.” Lucas smiled as he said that last part, but he soon added, “Finding a job with good benefits and pay is the ultimate goal.” I waited for more but no more came about the future Bird and racing his career. So I had to ask. “I’m going to keep racing but NASCAR is probably out of the question. I realize now that we are not millionaires and you almost have to be that wealthy to race at that level.” Lucas assured me, though, that he will be in a car with a 24 on it for a long, long time.

We moved on to his influences in life, in school and in general. “Mr. Endsely,” Lucas said immediately without a pause. “When he was here, he taught me how to work hard for what you want; he taught me how to really be dedicated to something and leadership, not just on the field but every part of life.” He stopped for a second, I think letting what he said sink in a bit and then he picked up immediately with “and the other is kind of obvious, my mom.” He paused again and continued, “She taught me to always do the right thing, showed me the difference between right and wrong and she supported me 100 percent in everything I wanted to do. She is my role model.”

We talked for a while longer, but he wanted to leave future seniors with this bit of advice: “Don’t procrastinate!” Then he added, “Make the right decisions even if you don’t want to and surround yourself with the right people.” Once again, great advice from a young man who has definitely surrounded himself with some great mentors and friends to help get him to where he is today.

Lucas, it has been great to get to know you over the years. And if there is ever a great person that we could all surround ourselves with, well, I think Lucas should be one of those people.