Eric D'Richards, Family and Friends
Lucas passed away suddenly on April 18, 2018 at the age of 14 years old. (14 years, 7 months, 24 days or 764 weeks and 2 days or 5350 days or 128,400 hours or 7,704,000 minutes or 462,240,000 seconds).
An annual scholarship has been established at Las Vegas Academy of the Arts (Lucas’ High School) inmemory of Lucas. The scholarship aims to enrich the lives of his musical peers by offering financial assistance towards Freshman year college expenses for a deserving LVA graduating senior each year. The first scholarship was awarded for the 2018 graduating class.
Lucas was very passionate about music and animals. He was always around dogs and spent so much time with them. Lucas also played baseball for many years beginning when he was 5 years old. When he began middle school, music became more front and center and he decided to focus his attention more towards music than baseball.
Lucas’ passion for music began at a very young age and grew stronger as the years passed. He made it clear when he was 5 years old that he wanted to be a drummer/percussionist. One day in kindergarten, Lucas came home from school and told me about how the teacher was asking the students what they wanted to be when they grew up. Lucas said he hesitated and didn’t give the teacher an answer straight away. The teacher then told Lucas just to say he wanted to be a painter. But he said to me, “Dad, I don’t want to be a painter” and I replied, “Well buddy, what do you think you want to be when you grow up?” Lucas responded with a passionate, “I don’t want to be a painter, I WANT TO BE A DRUMMER!”
Lucas had a natural ability to connect with music. From a very young age he paid close attention to music, melody and rhythm. Continuing with Lucas’ musical dreams, he decided he wanted to audition for Las Vegas Academy of the Arts (LVA), a nationally-recognized, award-winning magnet high school, serving approximately 1,700 students in Clark County, Nevada. Learning of his acceptance, Lucas was honestly the happiest person on this planet. Attending LVA, beginning with 9th grade in 2017, was a life’s accomplishment for him.
Located in the center of the Las Vegas High School Historical District, the Las Vegas Academy serves students from throughout the district in grades 9 through 12. Las Vegas Academy provides students the opportunity to pursue a conservatory in the areas of dance, music, theater, or visual arts within which majors available in band, vocal music, dance, guitar, international studies (French, Japanese, and Spanish), mariachi, orchestra, photography, piano, studio art, technical theater, theater, visual design, and World Jazz studies. All students must meet certain criteria for acceptance.
Lucas loved the newly redeveloped downtown area and the whole downtown Las Vegas vibe where LVA is located. It fit Lucas and Lucas fit it. He bragged about the experience of attending this unique school – its students, teachers and the general vibe that was unlike any traditional high schools.
I met all his teachers and have to say I never imagined a program so inspiring. Every person I encountered there is amazing. All the faculty and administrators help create an exceptional framework for an amazingly talented student body, all highly passionate for the Arts.
The first LVA performance I had the pleasure to experience was truly inspiring. It was on a whole other level compared to the typical “high school” concert. Having been in the entertainment business all my life, I’ve had the opportunity to experience all levels of professional musicianship – locally and around the world. I immediately recognized LVA students’ high degree of proficiency, intensity, and instruction.
Lucas loved going to production shows, concerts in the arenas, downtown Fremont experience, First Friday, and hearing live bands play anywhere. Lucas also had a thirst for music related movies, classic rock, and heavy metal music.
Lucas was pursuing music as a percussionist at LVA and relished the opportunity to play in the band at Central Christian Church in Henderson. Being part of the Central Christian band and attending LVA were honestly dreams come true for Lucas.
We, as a family, feel that the best way to further Lucas’ passion for music is through this memorial music scholarship in Lucas’ name and awarded each year to a graduating music student from LVA who is continuing to pursue their passion for the Arts in college. We have established the annual scholarship with the objective of continuing on a perpetual basis. the donations collected here help us maintain an award of no less than $500 each year to a student as well as donate annually in Lucas’ name towards expenses for the LVA music department. A Board of Directors, consisting of family members and LVA administrators, has been created in order to oversee criteria and insure transparency.
Programs in the Arts are never sufficiently funded. The cost for a student to pursue college is sometimes prohibitive. If we, in Lucas’ name, can help make studying the Arts a bit more attainable form someone each year, that would ALSO be a DREAM COME TRUE!