From Flower Mound to Austin, LEF empowered 2021 FMHS graduate JP Lipari to pursue his dreams as a civil engineer while enjoying the community found during his college years. His LEF scholarship funded by the FMHS PTSA helped lessen the financial burden of attending the University of Texas as a civil engineering major.
Thanks to his LISD education, Lipari found that transition from high school to college was not as daunting as he initially expected.
“With the classes [in LISD] I was much better prepared for taking my own initiative to study,” Lipari said. “I wasn’t discouraged that professors left it up to us to take it upon ourselves to study.”
Lipari adjusted to college well and found his rhythm. During summers, internship opportunities confirmed that he was pursuing the right field as he found a love for the transportation industry.
“If I could do anything with my life it would be making infrastructure and cities more equitable, easier to get around, and less car centric,” Lipari said. “I worked for a firm here in Austin and we were working on a light rail extension in Seattle and that’s something I was super passionate about. I went to work each day and took pride in doing something that aligned with my personal values.”
Lipari found a balance between excelling as a civil engineering student and spending time with friends. He got involved with clubs that aligned with his hobbies, creating a path to friendships with shared interests.
“I was running on my own, training for my first marathon, but that was exclusively by myself,” Lipari said. “It wasn’t until spring of my sophomore year that I decided to join the school’s running club and that has been very fun.”
Lipari was able to develop friendships, improve his running, and refine his leadership abilities through this club. He noted that club involvement can become overwhelming for students, though. Instead of organizations being a place to develop shared connections and engage in what a student enjoys, it can become a task to check off a list. Focusing on one's favorite activities or interests allows a student to serve a club wholeheartedly and reap the benefits of being involved.
“It’s a lot better to be fully invested in one or two organizations than it is to go out to 10 meetings one week and bounce around but not really get close with any of them,” Lipari said. “Put your time into one thing rather than a little bit of time into a bunch.”
Throughout his college experience, Lipari noticed that his ability to focus on academics and extracurricular interests rather than worry about financial decisions was rare. Lipari is grateful for LEF and the FMHS PTSA for awarding him a scholarship and therefore allowing him to engage in the enriching opportunities found in college.
“The more money you can give to students in college, it essentially buys them time which is by far the most valuable resource you can have,” Lipari said. “More time to study, more time to sleep sometimes, not having to work, not having to stress about picking up a shift here or there. Thank you for helping kids prioritize college and making it a better experience for anyone impacted by the program.”
