John Lapato ME'77

Photo of John Lapato

John Lapato ME'77 was born on June 24,1955 in Brooklyn, NY. He was the third child of John and Florence Lapato. He grew up in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. He attended elementary school at SS. Cyril & Methodius School in Greenpoint and St. Anne's School in Flushing, Queens. He graduated from Holy Cross High School in 1972. He then attended Cooper Union in Manhattan, where he graduated in 1976 with a degree in engineering.

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.