“Bleeding Keany Blue” comes naturally to all five members of the Luca family, shown here posing with Rhody during Family Weekend 2012. Frank (far left) and Nancy (née Farrell, second from right), both ’83, didn’t know each other while here at college but met shortly afterwards through a mutual URI friend. They married in 1987 and had three children, all currently enrolled: (from left) John, class of ’13, majoring in landscape architecture; Jenna, class of ’14, majoring in human development and family studies, just as her mother did; and Matthew, class of  ’17, majoring in accounting.

“We hoped that our children would consider URI, but never dreamed they would all attend our alma mater,” says Frank, who majored in communication studies and now serves as regional director of One on One Basketball. “They grew up hearing and learning about URI, listening to our stories and what a great education we received there.” They also learned the URI fight song from Nancy, now a teacher assistant in the Smithfield School Department.

“We are both very proud to be URI graduates,” said Frank. “With all our children currently there—one in a dorm, one in a sorority, and one ‘down the line’—we visit frequently and always have URI on our minds. One fun fact is that Jenna joined Nancy’s sorority, which she never could have predicted. Both of my sons are playing many of the same intramural sports that I played.

“Through the years it’s been fun visiting our URI friends in their homes in Texas, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut: attending their weddings, experiencing the births of their children, and all of us raising our families together. Some of our best friends today are from relationships that we developed at URI.

“When Nancy and I recently attended Family Weekend, we could still feel the excitement of when we were students there. We know that we will always be part of URI.”

Special thanks to Laurence J. Sasso Jr. ’65, M.A. ’67, editor and publisher of Your Smithfield Magazine, and to Brittni Henderson, class of ’11, for conducting the original interview.