Blog
Lakeland grads, current student give back to their hometown
Jun. 16, 2021
Two Lakeland graduates and a current Lakeland student, all from Menasha, Wis., returned to their hometown virtually to help middle school students start thinking about college and career options.
Lakeland’s Fox Cities Center and LU’s Cooperative Education & Career Readiness office collaborated to provide programing for Menasha School District Day on May 21.
A panel of Menasha High School graduates that includes two Lakeland graduates and one current LU student answered questions for Menasha students about why they went to college, how they decided on a career and the college they chose, along with other things they learned on their journey.
Menasha students also participated in a virtual activity about college and watched a short video tour of Lakeland’s campus.
The Menasha High School graduates are:
- Alex Piekarski, of Alva, Okla., graduated from Lakeland in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and history. He is the head women’s soccer coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, an NCAA Division 2 school. He had prior coaching jobs at St. Cloud State (Minnesota), Utah State University, Wayne State and Hastings College, both in Nebraska. He was a standout soccer player during his time at Lakeland. Piekarski also has a master’s in sport administration from St. Cloud State University.
- Shannon Reagan graduated from Lakeland in 2016 (after three years) with a double major in accounting and business administration. She is a cost accounting specialist at J.J. Keller & Associates in Neenah, Wis., where she has worked since graduation. She completed three internships during her time at Lakeland, and also studied abroad in Japan.
- Brian Kargus is currently enrolled at Lakeland, and he plans to complete a bachelor’s in computer science next year. He lives in Neenah, Wis., and works as logistics coordinator for Menasha Packaging. After graduating high school in 2009, he attended UW-La Crosse for three years, but left before graduating to work in the housing industry. He moved back to the Fox Valley area when he got a job with Menasha Packaging.
