Walter Luckett scored more points than any other high school basketball player in New England history.
He won a state championship at Bridgeport’s Kolbe Cathedral High School, and was named National High School Player of the Year in 1972.
After appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Ohio University freshman — and then a successful college career — he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons.
He scored 28 points against a team that included Julius Erving and Earl Monroe But the effects of a knee re-injury — after first damaging it in high school — derailed his hopes for NBA stardom.
Luckett returned to his hometown. He earned an MBA, became Unilever’s manager of community relations, and married his high school sweatheart, Valita. She enjoyed similar corporate success, at Southern New England Telephone.
But the couple’s real impact is far from the office. Since forming the Walter Luckett Foundation in 2013, they’ve impacted thousands of young people, ages 8 to 22, in Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury.
Through leadership and youth development training; literacy, standardized test prep and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) programs, and mentorships, job preparation and more, they are changing lives throughout the region.
Nicole Carson (left), a Kolbe Cathedral High School graduate and wellness spa owner, is a Luckett Foundation mentor. She shows Kolbe students how to make a cleansing product. (Photo/Dan Woog)
And — thanks to a partnership with the Westport Library — their work has a Westport component too.
When Shonda Rhimes spoke there at last month’s Martin Luther King Day celebration, a contingent of Walter Luckett Foundation students had front-row seats.
They asked provocative questions, and saw a role model up (very) close and personal.
“Who you are is up to you,” the Shondaland CEO; creator, head writer and executive producer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice,” and “Scandal,” and producer of “Bridgerton” told the teens.
Walter Luckett Foundation students were front-row guests at the Library’s Martin Luther King Day celebration. They were inspired by Westport resident Shonda Rhimes — and Christian Servance (above), a gospel singer and special friend of the Foundation.
A Luckett Foundation contingent was at the Westport Library last year too, when King’s speechwriter Clarence Jones made history come alive.
Carlotta Walls LaNier — one of the Little Rock 9, who integrated Central High School in 1957 — spoke at the Westport Library in 2022. She spent an hour before her talk in a private session with Walter Luckett Foundation students from Bridgeport and New Haven, and Staples High School.
The teenagers may or may not have heard of her in their history classes. But they were prepared with excellent questions.
“Can people change?” one teenager asked.
“Yes,” LaNier said — “if they are open to accept different experiences, and learn from them. If you are true to yourself, you can learn on a daily basis.”
Another question was about “our better angels.”
“It’s hard to find them,” LaNier admitted. “But I know they’re out there. That’s why it’s so important to learn, and talk about, our country’s history.”
Before her Westport Library appearance, Carlotta LaNeir (above, and in 1957) spoke with Luckett Foundation students.
Earlier, at the Westport Library’s inaugural VersoFest, Luckett and his wife brought a group of teenagers to the keynote by actor/writer/producer/martial artist/former Westport personal trainer Michael Jai Wright.
He described his quest to bring a full-scale, state-of-the-art, employing-hundreds studio and production facility to Connecticut.
“I was not put on this earth to make a billion dollars,” he told the crowd — packed with Luckett Foundation teens. “I’m here to share a billion dollars.”
All those messages are important for the Bridgeport and New Haven students to hear.
But it’s equally important for Westport’s young people to be exposed to the Luckett Foundation youth. More programs are planned for the future.
Walter and Valita Luckett (center), with Kolbe Cathedral basketball coach and Luckett Foundation member John Pfohl, and Kolbe graduate and Foundation mentor Nicole Carson. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Staples High School is just 10 miles from Kolbe Cathedral, home base for the Luckett Foundation.
The Bridgeport private school is far smaller than its Westport counterpart — 325 students, compared to 1,900 — but its focus on academic success, and the rigor of its classes, is just as strong.
Luckett credits Kolbe for much of his success. It provided a basketball court for his athletic talents, and it instilled the values of hard work and goal-setting that have driven his life’s work.
To see Luckett, his wife, and the Kolbe staff in action is inspiring, and powerful.
The other day, I spent time with them at Kolbe.
I saw Nicole Carson — a 2005 Kolbe graduate, and owner of Carson Aesthetics Wellness Spa in Milford — work with students, teaching them the chemistry behind her cosmetic products.
I learned about the Luckett Foundation’s work with Bridgeport elementary schools, and the importance of mentors from Sacred Heart Universtiy.
I heard a graduate say, “I wouldn’t be who I am without Mr. Luckett and his foundation. Coming back to Kolbe is like coming home. It keeps me grounded.”
I listened as John Pfohl, Kolbe’s boys basketball coach, extolled Luckett for his legacy. One of the Foundation’s programs brings high school players to Madison Square Garden, for a day of learning about sports management.
For some, it is their first time ever in New York City.
Kolbe Cathedral, at Madison Square Garden.
But even on that trip, Luckett says, “we talk about a lot more than basketball. We talk about what’s next, after the ball stops bouncing.”
I heard about the Foundation’s many important partners, including Unilever, M&T Bank and State Farm.
“We’ve been blessed,” Walter Luckett says, of he and his wife’s lives. “We’re just sharing our blessings.”
“We’re looking for an equitable playing field for all,” Valita adds. “These kids are brilliant. They just need support and assistance, to continue to blossom and grow.”
“We’re in Fairfield County — one of the most affluent areas of the country,” Walter notes. “But Bridgeport is a different world.
“We’re a safe haven,” he says of Kolbe, and the Luckett Foundation. “I wish we could provide for everyone.”
Together with their partners — including the Westport Library — Walter and Valita Luckett are providing many resources, in plenty of ways, for great young men and women.
And for our future.
(To learn more about the Walter Luckett Foundation — including how to contribute — click here.)
