Deon Lucas is an architect and passionate community member that didn’t know much about neighborhoods growing up. He thought Chicago was a boundless city. Now, he takes pride in focusing his attention and love on the Englewood community.
Deon’s dreams as an architect began taking shape as a teenager. He attended Westinghouse Vocational School where he took up drafting. Deon explained that he was a quiet student who excelled in his classwork, but felt he was carrying the image of a bookworm and nerd so he began playing sports. “I needed an outlet and football was my outlet.” In high school he competed for three consecutive years in the New House Architecture Competition placing each year he competed. His involvement in the competition lead him to earn an internship with Smith & Smith Associates Inc.
Though Deon was gifted, he didn’t see college as an attainable goal as a high school student. That all changed when a counselor noticed his potential and convinced him to apply to Tuskegee University. Not knowing that the school was a Historically Black College/University (HBCU), he found himself in Tuskegee, Alabama ready to be molded into what would become a proud architect. After graduating with his Bachelors in Architecture from Tuskegee, he returned back to Illinois to earn his Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Science in Architecture at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
With all of his success, he never forgot about Chicago. Deon has been a RAGE member since 2016. He decided to get involved because he wanted to immerse himself in the culture of the community as he sought the location out for real estate. “I wanted to get to know the actual residents in Englewood, doing real work.” Deon especially enjoys attending the Englewood Village Meetings where he developed a fondness for the notable guest speakers and hearing the community’s thoughts on issues.
“I think it’s beautiful,” said Deon. “It’s a gold mind, full of passionate people.” In doing work in Englewood, Deon believes that those needed to help Englewood rise are already here, he believe you should “build on what you have, empower the individuals around here.”
Deon’s work with RAGE allowed him to meet other entrepreneurs in Englewood. Those relationships bloomed to create the Englewood Thrive Zone Collective, a group of entrepreneurs seeking to leverage their “collective independence” by supporting each other’s enterprises. In this collective, Deon will be heading BEEHYYVE, a collaborative platform for independent architects to leverage design engineering and construction resources in a collective manner.
On a personal note, Deon has been engaged to his fiancé Tracy since July of last year. He still has dreams of learning Mandarin Chinese, world history and more about different cultures. Deon lives by the quote, “make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood.” (Daniel Burham).
We salute the absolute excellence of our dedicated RAGE Member, Deon Lucas! #MemberMondays
Written By: Michelle Rashad | Edited By: Shanel Adams
R.A.G.E. 
Great example.