Helping the Next Generation of Fix-It Folks

Even as a young boy, Phillip J. Lapekas (T ’63) was always drawn to anything mechanical. Whether it was taking things apart or putting them back together, learning how they worked always drew his attention immediately. After graduating from Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Phillip had no idea what he wanted to do next. However, with a few friends and a sister having attended Ferris Institute, he knew he needed more education, too, and enrolled in what was then the Applied Industrial program of General Printing at Ferris.

Once at Ferris, Phillip quickly became involved in campus life and activities, and even joined the fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha, expanding his social life even more. Although the activities and social opportunities of campus life were enjoyable, he found his studies and learning new skills were far more engaging and have lasted a lifetime.

After graduation from Ferris, Phillip found employment easily, yet he still yearned for something more and enrolled in Western Michigan University’s Industrial Arts–Secondary Education program to become a high school shop teacher. Little did he know that an entirely different and rewarding career was about to come to his attention.

During his junior year at Western, he attended a presentation for the Veterans Administration (VA) hospital in Broadview, Illinois, for internship recruiting. With the perks of receiving credit as he would for student teaching, as well as free room and board, he applied immediately. After completing a successful internship, he was asked to join the staff and began a 25-year career that took him across the nation, from Chicago to San Francisco. Phillip progressed through the ranks with the VA, first as an instructor and ultimately retiring as national program consultant for the entire western United States and its Veterans Administration medical centers. “There is no way to foresee what the future has in store for any student, but if you want results, take your studies seriously and your relationships with your classmates just as seriously—you may be in business together someday,” says Phillip.

Phillip’s life has developed and prospered around mechanical skills and he attributes his ability to fix things as what has given him and his family a good life. In addition to his rewarding career with the VA, after completing his graduate studies in special education in California, he also had several income properties that he built and maintained himself. From installing dishwashers to rewiring entire houses, Phillip did it all.

When reflecting on his commitment through a planned gift he made in 2020 to establish an endowed scholarship to support students in the College of Engineering Technology, Phillip shares: “I hope to help reduce the impact of the cost of education for the next generation of ‘fix-it folks’ like me, so that he or she can realize the same dream I had in 1963.”

Like Phillip, you too, can help ensure a bright future for Ferris students. For more information about planned gifts, please contact The Ferris Foundation at (231) 591-2365 or FerrisFoundation@ferris.edu.