April 10, 2024
Lucianna Lapp '10
Submitted by Lucianna Lapp
Life after Cal Lu
I often think back to my days at Cal Lu. I was fortunate enough to spend my last 2 years of college there but always wished it would’ve been 4! The Track and Field program was hands down amazing and so much fun! We were a big family and I have made lifelong friends from it! The program, people and Cal Lu community were such a wonderful experience and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.
My first-time visiting Cal Lutheran Campus was when my brother was recruited to play football for the Kingsmen. Our family went there during the recruitment weekend where I immediately fell in love with the school and decided to transfer from Cal State San Marcos. In July of 2008, we lost our father to cancer. Both my brother and I started school in the fall, only weeks after his death. It was so important for the two us to be together. He played football and I was Captain of the Cal Lu cheer team for 2 years. I joined the track and field throwing team in the spring of 2009. During my 2 years I became experienced with the hammer throw and improved my Javelin and Discus skills, had several personal records and was All-SCIAC (In 2009 for Javelin and 2010 for Discus). CLU was an experience of a lifetime! I will always look back on this time of my life with fond memories.
Fast forward to life after graduation-
After graduating in the Spring of 2010, with my BA in Communications, I took a sports broadcasting internship with FOX in San Diego (since I was 11 years old I had always aspired to be a sports reporter. After interning for a few months, I had decided that dream was no longer for me). At the same time, I was also working a temp job at Blackbaud, a software company in San Diego. After my temp job ended, I was hired at Blackbaud as an executive assistant and then became an operation analyst. I learned about operations and finance in that role. A few years later, I was offered a job opportunity out in Houston, Texas with BMC Software. I packed up a U-Haul and with my car in tow, my mom and I drove from California to Texas. Living by a lake, I quickly fell in love with boating and relaxing out on the water. I joined an adult slow pitch softball team. Rodeo is a very big deal in Texas, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to join the Houston Livestock Rodeo’s merchandise committee where I volunteered for 4 years.
Our work lunchtime was filled with fun athletic activities, including flag football (I was captain of our flag football team), and sand volleyball, where my team went on to win the championship!
After a year and a half, of a long-distance relationship, my college sweetheart moved out to join me in Texas. Shortly after, we moved from the suburbs of Houston, to the city. We joined District H Crossfit where I competed in my first Crossfit open. This reminded me of my college days at Cal Lu because our gym community is like family and it gave me that competitive edge I longed for after graduating. In December of 2016, my college sweetheart proposed. Two years later, we were married in Texas at The Lakehouse at Towne Lake surrounded by our closest family and friends. Shortly after our wedding, we purchased our first home in Houston. We went on our honeymoon to Europe, touring France, Italy and Spain. In the summer of 2019, we became the owners of District H Crossfit (now District H Strength and Fitness), just in time to find out we were pregnant with our first child! In November, we found out we were having a BOY. In 2020, the pandemic hit and my job had us work from home. On April 21st, our son James Richard Allen was born. We still currently reside in Houston, with our sweet baby boy and our 3 lovable dogs! I continue to work for BMC Software as the IT finance manager for our Technology Business Management team. We love loading the truck up and taking road trips, which are often to New Orleans to visit my brother and his wife (who are both Cal Lu Alums) and their 2 boys. We have been blessed with visits from our parents and look forward to more adventures. I am grateful for my wonderful life and look forward to what God has in store for the future.Life after Cal LU
I often think back to my days at Cal Lu. I was fortunate enough to spend my last 2 years of college there but always wished it would’ve been 4! The Track and Field program was hands down amazing and so much fun! We were a big family and I have made lifelong friends from it! The program, people and Cal Lu community were such a wonderful experience and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.
My first-time visiting Cal Lutheran Campus was when my brother was recruited to play football for the Kingsmen. Our family went there during the recruitment weekend where I immediately fell in love with the school and decided to transfer from Cal State San Marcos. In July of 2008, we lost our father to cancer. Both my brother and I started school in the fall, only weeks after his death. It was so important for the two us to be together. He played football and I was Captain of the Cal Lu cheer team for 2 years. I joined the track and field throwing team in the spring of 2009. During my 2 years I became experienced with the hammer throw and improved my javelin and discus skills, had several personal records and was All-SCIAC (In 2009 for Javelin and 2010 for Discus). CLU was an experience of a lifetime! I will always look back on this time of my life with fond memories.
Fast forward to life after graduation-
After graduating in the Spring of 2010, with my BA in Communications, I took a sports broadcasting internship with FOX in San Diego (since I was 11 years old I had always aspired to be a sports reporter. After interning for a few months, I had decided that dream was no longer for me). At the same time, I was also working a temp job at Blackbaud, a software company in San Diego. After my temp job ended, I was hired at Blackbaud as an executive assistant and then became an operation analyst. I learned about operations and finance in that role. A few years later, I was offered a job opportunity out in Houston, Texas with BMC Software. I packed up a U-Haul and with my car in tow, my mom and I drove from California to Texas. Living by a lake, I quickly fell in love with boating and relaxing out on the water. I joined an adult slow pitch softball team. Rodeo is a very big deal in Texas, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to join the Houston Livestock Rodeo’s merchandise committee where I volunteered for 4 years.
Our work lunchtime was filled with fun athletic activities, including flag football (I was captain of our flag football team), and sand volleyball, where my team went on to win the championship!
After a year and a half, of a long-distance relationship, my college sweetheart moved out to join me in Texas. Shortly after, we moved from the suburbs of Houston, to the city. We joined District H Crossfit where I competed in my first Crossfit open. This reminded me of my college days at Cal Lu because our gym community is like family and it gave me that competitive edge I longed for after graduating. In December of 2016, my college sweetheart proposed. Two years later, we were married in Texas at The Lakehouse at Towne Lake surrounded by our closest family and friends. Shortly after our wedding, we purchased our first home in Houston. We went on our honeymoon to Europe, touring France, Italy and Spain. In the summer of 2019, we became the owners of District H Crossfit (now District H Strength and Fitness), just in time to find out we were pregnant with our first child! In November, we found out we were having a BOY. In 2020, the pandemic hit and my job had us work from home. On April 21st, our son James Richard Allen was born. We still currently reside in Houston, with our sweet baby boy and our 3 lovable dogs! I continue to work for BMC Software as the IT finance manager for our Technology Business Management team. We love loading the truck up and taking road trips, which are often to New Orleans to visit my brother and his wife (who are both Cal Lu Alums) and their 2 boys. We have been blessed with visits from our parents and look forward to more adventures. I am grateful for my wonderful life and look forward to what God has in store for the future.