’Tis the season to be lucky. St. Patrick’s Day is almost here, and Worcester college students are finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In honor of the little guy and his pot of gold, we asked area college students to give us their definitions of luck. Students all across Worcester ~ from Clark University to Worcester Polytechnic Institute to Assumption College ~ weighed in with their thoughts, and most thought that being lucky is not a sporadic occurrence but is, in fact, created by individuals.

Worcester students think that luck is everywhere, and that anyone can make his or her own luck. Most students said luck is more likely to come from their own hard work.

Jana Kelnhofer, a freshman at Clark University, said she believes luck can only stem from hard work. “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

The majority of college students feel this way; especially when talking about the opportunities that arise in college. Duc Tien, a freshman at WPI, defines luck as “a chance or opportunity given to you,” adding that “when luck comes, it can be good.” Even though Tien feels very lucky, he still is “trying to do everything on my own and trying my best.” Tien said he believes his admission to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (he wants to be an engineer) is the luckiest thing to happen to him.

Some students find the simple things in life are the luckiest. Cassie Schultz, a sophomore from Assumption College, said she believes “in general, just being lucky (is) having good fortune.” Even something as simple as “rooming with my best friend, Courtney,” is lucky to Schultz.

For Devan Beaulac, a senior at WPI, money goes hand in hand with luck. The luckiest moments of her life are “when I find money on the ground.” One time, Beaulac said, she “found $200 in a book I got at The Salvation Army.”

“Good things happening for no apparent reason whatsoever” is what luck means to Ashley Impagliazzo, a senior at Assumption College. However, her luckiest experience is “getting into vet school,” a piece of luck that also needed some hard work.

But is luck real? It’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Kelnhofer said luck is “a concept, whether or not it’s real,” and it can be anything from the “smallest things to getting the job to winning the lottery.” Kelnhofer calls luck “a mystical concept …. a fantastical spin on an everyday occurrence that people have made to celebrate success more often and make life more interesting.”

Whether it’s real or not, we’d all like a little. Here’s hoping your St. Patrick’s Day is a lucky one!

By Tricia Wise