Traveling the globe as an attorney, Rick Lukianuk earned a great living and got to see the sights in exotic locales such as Cairo and Hong Kong.
But he missed out on one of the most important things: spending quality time with his wife and their two children.
So after 17 years dealing with mergers and acquisitions, the high-powered lawyer decided in the late 1990s to downsize his family’s house, sell their expensive cars and head down a life-changing path that led him to be the new headmaster at Christian Heritage Academy in Northfield.
By giving up his international job, Lukianuk got a chance to focus on issues at home, savoring simple moments like driving his children to school and watching his daughter win basketball championships.
“We have shared so many wonderful things together over the last few years that we otherwise wouldn’t have,” said Lukianuk, 48. The route to the academy, which serves 400 children from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, was not easy, but Lukianuk believes he truly is making a difference.
About the time Lukianuk decided to change careers, the small Christian school his children attended in New Hampshire asked for his legal expertise in buying a new building.
After helping with that for about a year, the principal at the school announced he was leaving and administrators asked if Lukianuk would be interested in the job.
At first he didn’t know if he would be qualified but said he quickly learned that his corporate experience provided invaluable help in structuring staff, developing budgets and dealing with human resources.
After five years as principal there, he was recruited by Christian Heritage Academy, where he took over in July.
“Now, I get to make a difference in hundreds of kids’ lives,” he said. “What a way to leverage what you know and what you do through the next generation.”
