Mr. Luke McLellan sits quietly in room 207, leaning back in his purple chair as dozens of freshmen flock into the classroom. 

An aurora of noise stirs among the freshmen in the classroom until the bell rings.

Immediately, the freshmen take their seats and sit quietly.  Mr. McLellan continues to stare blankly at his freshmen, almost as if he was saying something to them telepathically. 

After about 15 seconds of silence, one stands up and brings $20 to his desk; then another approaches with a $50 check.  Three minutes later, $161.90 is strewn about Mr. McLellan’s desk.

After an eye opening experience on a mission trip to Haiti, Mr. McLellan has found  further inspiration to make a commitment to social justice within the Rockhurst community.

“In the ‘60s, when I was young, there was a saying that you were either a part of the problem or part of the solution.  And I think Luke just feels a huge obligation to be part of the solution,” Mrs. Michelle McLellan, Mr. McLellan’s mother, said.

“I also think he believes that things are for greater good and that there’s need, and if there is need [to help the oppressed], you can’t just sit around.” 

Mr. McLellan first heard his calling to aid the needy back in 1999 when he participated in his Senior Service Project at the Don Bosco Center in Independence, Mo.  

“We helped move Kosovo refugees or Somalia refugees…into apartments.  So a family of eight would go into this teeny little room and they’d have electricity for the first time in a year.  They couldn’t be happier.  And that really kind of struck me so I kept working down there.  It was an eye opening experience,” Mr. McLellan said.

Those two and a half weeks provided a ripple effect for Mr. McLellan, particularly in his recent trips to Haiti, one of which he helped organize.

According to Mr. McLellan, he and some friends spent the majority of their time in Haiti with poor, starving children who needed love.

“I’m hoping to get other trips organized. If you do your research, Haiti is not the safest place to take Mission Trips.  It’s the poorest country in the hemisphere,” Mr. McLellan said.

Besides committing himself to social justice, Mr. McLellan values the relationships that he develops with students.  Senior Max Conger, video game club president, has become close friends with Mr. McLellan, particularly through their encounters in the gaming world

According to Conger, he and senior Chris Camarata play Xbox Live with Mr. McLellan quite often, sometimes putting stakes on the games they play.  Conger claims that Mr. McLellan owes Camarata and him each a meal at China Star buffet because they upheld their end of a bet with Mr. McLellan in the game Gears of War 2.

In the classroom, Mr. McLellan’s constant passion keeps the environment animated and lively.

Whether it be by blaring an air-horn to get students’ attention or by opening the windows during the winter time in order to force students to focus on his daily lecture, Mr. McLellan keeps the students on their heels and attentive to what he has to tell them.

Mr. McLellan also relates well to his students because of his nature at which he conducts his class.  According to Conger, students enjoy the surprises that McLellan offers daily.

“I try to keep things entertaining because you can teach and be energetic at the same time.  I think that’s a good thing so I try to use all the energy that naturally God gave me to keep all the students paying attention,” Mr. McLellan said.

Imprinting a strong legacy upon Rockhurst and its students, more specifically through the Theology department, has been one of Mr. McLellan’s goals.

“I think he wants to be known as the teacher who takes freshmen, who are probably the hardest class to teach and just a hair pulling experience every day, and sends them out as sophomores, more integrated into the Rockhurst ideals,” Conger said.

After all the freshmen have finished donating, Mr. McLellan smirks at the students and tells them they will be watching a documentary called “Invisible Children.”