As a 30-year-old Army veteran with a wife and two children, Anthony Cuci (’75) wasn’t the typical college student when he came to Liberty in 1973. Cuci had been a drummer in a premier Army band, and he wanted to funnel his love of music into a career as a music teacher. After being turned down by other Christian colleges due to his age, he heard about a new school in Lynchburg, Va.
“(The campus) was just the church on Thomas Road at the time, that’s all it was,” Cuci said. “I was impressed by what I heard, and I felt encouraged to apply. I decided to quit my good-paying job, and we moved down to Lynchburg.”
Photo of Anthony Cuci from a Liberty yearbook
Cuci already had some college credits, so he completed his bachelor’s degree in music in two years. While still a student, Cuci was asked by the head of Liberty’s music department to become a professor and instructor. He taught a percussion class and also served as an assistant band leader in the first year the marching band performed on the football field.
“The band director instructed me to come up with a show, and all I knew was music, but the kids in the band knew all about how to march, so they helped me set that up,” he said.
Over four decades later, it came time for his granddaughter Olivia Matson to decide on her own college plans. Living in Virginia and attending a Christian high school, Matson wanted to go anywhere but Liberty since she knew so many of her peers were headed there and she wanted to branch out from the familiar. That changed when she spent a week on campus for a church camp.
“That’s when I really started falling in love with the campus and how just lovely everything is,” Matson said. “I made the decision in my heart that I wanted to come here. After not wanting to come, then falling in love with it, I think that has got to be God bringing (me) to this university.”
Her grandfather’s stories of his time in Lynchburg almost 50 years ago also made her want to explore the Liberty of today.
The Spirit of the Mountain Marching Band during Cuci’s time at Liberty.
“It’s really cool to be able to say that my grandfather came here back when it was Lynchburg Baptist College and that he was also part of one of the first graduating classes,” said Matson, now a sophomore pursuing a writing degree. “It’s so fun to share that with people I meet here when they ask why I came here. It’s a really cool and special (connection) to have.”
With his granddaughter on campus, Cuci said he has even more of a reason to visit his alma mater more often. He last visited on Homecoming Weekend.
“When she said she wanted to come here, I knew it was a chance to come back and see just how much was different, which is a lot,” Cuci said. “It’s absolutely amazing; the school is way beyond what we (early students) could have possibly imagined. I’m glad Olivia picked this school, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for her.”
“I think it’s so cool and such a privilege to go here,” Matson added. “I think it really speaks to the fact that even after Jerry Falwell passed away and after he started the school 50 years ago, his legacy is still living on, and his vision is still thriving. God is still working at this school, and above all I feel really grateful to be a part of it.”
