Harvard Class of 2026: Blake Lusty

Blake Lusty spent more than a decade in the U.S. Navy, completing four combat deployments across 25 seas and four oceans and rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. What his military record doesn’t capture is that he did it all while navigating repeated cancer diagnoses and major health setbacks. Diagnosed with late-stage cancer at 20 years old and given 12 months to live, Blake refused to let his diagnosis define his story. The cancer returned again years later, just as he had earned his dream assignment at sea. He later underwent open heart surgery and was forced to rethink what came next. In 2024, he enrolled at Harvard Business School to begin a new chapter. Here, he reflects on service, resilience, family, and building a new chapter after the Navy.