When 26-year-old Santa Monica College student Luke Dunphy died last summer as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on the 405 freeway, it was a stunning and tragic loss to his family, including 5-year-old son Isaiah.

His death was also poignant and bittersweet.

A few days prior to the accident, Luke had gone to UCLA Medical Center - the place where he would die - to begin the paperwork to donate his kidney to a girl he had recently met. His kidney did, indeed, go to the girl, though not in the way he had intended.

Luke's act of generosity, both in life and in death, speaks to the core of who he was, said brother Jay Dunphy.

And Luke was not only generous, he was a strong believer in the value of education and was fiercely devoted to his son.

For these reasons, the family asked Santa Monica College to award Luke an Associate of Arts degree posthumously - and that is exactly what the college will do on May 4.

The A.A. degree in Liberal Studies will be presented to members of the Dunphy family, including his son, at an SMC Board of Trustees meeting. It is believed this is the first time in SMC history that a degree has been awarded posthumously.

We are thrilled the college is conferring this degree, said Jay Dunphy. "Luke worked two jobs and went to school full-time to advance himself, but the reason he did so was because, more than being a hard worker and dedicated student, he was a loving father and would do anything to provide every opportunity possible to his son."

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Luke Dunphy enrolled at SMC in the fall of 2007, taking mostly business courses, but also classes in ceramics and American art history. In spring 2008, he made the Dean's honor list.

College officials say Luke Dunphy made strong academic progress at SMC and successfully completed more than 60 units and all the requirements for the Associate of Arts Degree.

Jay said his brother intended to transfer to Pepperdine University in Malibu or another four-year school to get a bachelor's in business.

He was also working at a motorcycle shop in Santa Monica and in logistics and operations at Merit Financial in Santa Monica. His other passion, besides motorcycles, was boxing.

The fourth of seven children, Luke grew up in the Manchester, N.H. area and attended boarding school in Pennsylvania. His parents, John and Mona, and most of his siblings, still live in New Hampshire.

While serving in the Air Force in London, he met and married Monica, and they moved to Monica's home city, Los Angeles, in 2006. Luke and Monica were later divorced, but Luke continued to be active in his son's life.

Jay Dunphy said he, his brother Ben, Isaiah and Isaiah's mother plan to come to Santa Monica for the degree conferral.

I can't sufficiently express how invaluable I believe this degree would be to Isaiah in remembering his father for who he was and the values he espoused, he said.