Senior Luke Nickens, was a son, a brother to all, a friend, and truly a man known for his strong leading moral compass. He was widely loved as he was someone who always exemplified kindness, compassion, and selflessness in his heart.
Nickens, who died in a kayaking accident March 18, led a life being a leader. He may not have been in the front and center of attention, but instead he had the ability to find the light even in the darkest of corners. His leadership throughout his life was such a testament to his character that others have shifted their perspectives in life and came together to live under a powerful phrase: “Live Like Luke.”
“He was the kind of person that everyone would want to be. He always had a lot of love in his heart,” senior Ryan Chamberlin said. “He really was everything that everyone says he was. He’s a great person, he was a great friend, he was a great son, and he was a great brother. He was very protective of everyone that he liked, and he’d always have your back.”
Chamberlin and Nickens were best friends growing up since they met in the 6th grade, but it wasn’t just these two: there were also Nate Campos, Gavin Vampran, and Tyler Berry. These boys came together with the same thing in common. Their brotherly love for Nickens. Matthew Nickens, Luke’s father, describes this friendship as “endearing and everlasting”.
“That’s one of our biggest concerns as parents, is what kind of people our kids choose to associate with,” Nickens said. “And man, Luke couldn’t have picked a better group of guys.”
Regardless of his age, Luke waded through life trusting his moral compass. His ability to recognize right from wrong was the thing that set Luke apart from his peers and he was always the friend to go to for advice. He was seen as the older brother of the group, the one who kept everyone in check, the most reliable person to his close friends such as senior Nate Campos.
“He was very genuine. He had a very strong moral compass. He always did what he believed was right, and honestly, he was right a lot of the time,” Campos said. “As he carried on through my life and even as he does now, he’s kind of like that angel on my shoulder that’s talking to me even now when I’m making his decision, he’s like, ‘Is that right?’”
Chamberlin and Campos are two of Nickens’ longest friendships since he moved to Fort Worth. It was always just the three of them being inseparable until Luke decided to merge his friends together during his sophomore year and created what is now an inseparable, and everlasting brotherhood.
“He kind of just brought us all together and then we all started hanging out with each other. He was the glue to our group,” Chamberlin said.
An annual tradition organized by the students in the senior class is the fun and inclusive water fight game called, ‘Senior Assassin’. To join the game each senior must pay $5, join the Life360 tracking app, and are assigned a target to assassinate with any form of a water toy. The only form of protection from this free for all is by wearing either swim goggles or swim floaties. A recording of the target getting taken down had to be recorded to solidify the kill and advance to the next round. The last one standing would win the grand prize of $415.
“That was when Luke first came home talking about that,” Matthew Nickens said. “Number one, he was fired up about participating in it, and number two, it sounded fun, it really did. It sounded like a neat event that was put together.”
The game was highly anticipated and started the week before spring break. Heartbreakingly, on Tuesday, March 18, during spring break, Luke’s time with the senior class ended abruptly causing a disruption within the hearts of the seniors after losing their fellow classmate. The students who organized the game then decided to end the game and donate the $415 to the Nickens family’s GoFundMe.
In an Instagram post, the organizers of the game posted, “As a classmate and fellow participant, Luke was an important part of our community, and we want to honor his memory. Luke was set to walk across the stage with us in May, and it does not feel right to continue without him.”
The tennis team was also hit by the loss of their teammate. In honor of Luke’s memory, the tennis team provided a space for a memorial along the fences of the tennis courts. Family and friends left flowers, teddy bears, miniature models of corvettes, Lukes favorite candies and energy drinks, along with other valuable memorabilia.
“Just walking out to the courts every day, walking out of the locker room to the DCT, seeing his poster still up there with all the flowers that have been up there for weeks now. So, it’s not a bad reminder, but it is something to see that you know, life’s still different right now,” senior Gavin Vampran said.
Vampran and Nickens met in their freshmen year, and in the short time between then and senior year, Vampran learned about Lukes’s love for fishing. As a way to bring people together and allow them to grieve, Vampran plans on organizing a group fishing session, just as Luke would’ve loved to do one last time.
“One thing I kind of regret is not being there as much as I could have been to go fishing with him or anything. I want to put together a group of our friends and family and just go fish, talk, talk about him and share stories. You know, just remember him in that in that light,” Vampran said.
Luke was the oldest of three and whether he knew it or not, he was the role model for his younger brothers. Junior Noah Nickens joined the tennis team and the choir shortly after Luke did, giving them more things to experience together. Noah expressed his gratitude toward the support from the community and is thankful for the love that has been poured into his family. The most important thing that Noah hopes people remember his brother by is simply his kindness.
“It’s that simple: He was just a kind man. He was just supportive, he just did whatever he did, he made sure to make you feel good about it,” Noah Nickens said.
As the year ends for the class of 2025, this tragedy will rest in the hearts of the Pioneers. Luke Nickens’ father, Matthew Nickens, extended his gratitude as well to the community for their unwavering support in this time of need. He believes that people should Live Like Luke and be the Luke in other’s lives.
“To anyone who knew my son, and whatever good you saw in him, go be that for somebody else,” Matthew Nickens said.