For the Love of Fisk: Karli Lusain

By Jada Thompson
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Fisk University

Jubilee Hall, for freshman Kesha Lusain, was more than a residence hall—it was the beginning of a legacy. As she walked the grounds of Fisk University, the beauty of Cravath and the deep history woven into the campus became part of her story. A biology major, her Fisk experience was marked by crimson and cream as she crossed into the Alpha Beta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, proudly carrying the line number 24.

Years later, Kesha’s daughter, Karli, would follow a strikingly familiar blueprint – one that looked less like a coincidence and more like a calling.

Eric Lusain and Kesha first met as freshman biology majors, their lives unexpectedly intersecting in the rows of a Fisk classroom. What began as shared coursework—lab coats, lectures, and late-night study sessions—grew into a love story. By the time they graduated in 1997, Fisk had given them more than degrees; it had given them each other.

For the Lusain family, Fisk was never simply a school but a foundation. Karli’s grandfather, who served as Dean of Student Affairs in the late ’90s, added another layer to a lineage deeply tied to the university’s mission and community. Fisk University was not just their alma mater but a landmark in a divinely ordered story – the place where a legacy began.

“Fisk is very deeply rooted in me. There wasn’t any option of where I was going to go to school. I wanted to go to Fisk,” Karli says.

Growing up, Fisk was a constant—with acceptance letters specially saved, graduation gowns hung with pride, and stories retold at family gatherings. She wandered the campus long before she understood the weight of its legacy, the significance of its halls, or the history her family helped shape.

Now, as a senior biology major, she is writing her own chapter in the Lusain story. Inspired by the hard work and dedication of her late mother and father, Karli is determined – not by pressure, but by the privilege – to fill the shoes of those that came before her.

Knowing that her mother walked the same halls, studied toward the same degree, and blazed her own path, makes Karli’s journey even more meaningful. Even in her mother’s physical absence, her legacy remains a steady guide, pushing Karli forward.

“It’s definitely been a large motivation to succeed in life, knowing that I have such great shoes to fill and such a very prestigious path to walk.”

Fisk is not new to fostering scholars, leaders, and world changers, and with the Lusain family, Fisk continues to do what it does best.

Karli is adding new sound to the echoes of her family’s Fisk history, serving as a student ambassador, working in SGA, interning for the Office of Marketing and Communications, and crossing into the Alpha Beta chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated – gracing the familiar line number of 24 – where she serves as First Vice President for the chapter.

The close-knit nature of Fisk alumni is another pillar that pushes Karli forward. Former classmates of her parents turned aunts and uncles motivate her daily. Karli stands on the shoulders of the many former Fiskites that only wish to see her succeed.

“People will always say you can never go anywhere and not see a Fiskite or not know a Fiskite. You will know them, and they will know somebody that you know. Those connections, those doors you can walk in because you know a Fiskite who knows a Fiskite are pivotal.”

Karli is both a product and a promise of Fisk’s enduring spirit. Through students like her, Fisk’s legacy doesn’t just repeat—it multiplies. Each generation builds upon the last, turning history into movement, and pride into purpose. When one Fiskite steps forward, they open doors for countless others to follow.

Supporting Fisk means honoring the past by investing in the future. It ensures that stories like the Lusains’ continue to flourish for generations to come, empowering students to transform legacy into lasting impact.