FRHS Graduate Blazes Trails

Outstanding Graduate Chooses Life of Community Service

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Lisa Parker, an outstanding graduate at Fossil Ridge High School, blazes trails that others can follow according to Diedre Cook, FRHS principal.

“The amazing thing about Lisa Parker is that she gives 110 percent of what she has,” Cook said. “She takes action and turns what could be a negative situation and makes into a positive situation.  Her concern is always to leave a positive footprint for others to follow.”

Lisa spent most of her senior year raising enough money to purchase four AEDs----machines that can administer a shock to regulate an irregular heartbeat.  She organized the project in memory of her former classmate Stephen Arnold, who died from sudden heart failure on the last day of school in the spring 2009 while playing basketball in the FRHS gym.  

“When we realized that Stephen would not graduate with our class, it was a blow,” Lisa explained.  “Our goal was to buy four AEDs, one for each school Stephen attended."  The first AED has been installed at Fossil Ridge and the others will be installed at Kinard and Zach Core Knowledge Schools and Timnath Elementary over the summer.

Now that the first AED has been installed at FRHS, Lisa is ready to go on to the next phase of her life.  Accepted at Denver University, she plans to study nonprofit management in DU’s school of business—a major that is not currently offered by DU.  After being offered an $18,000 academic scholarship by DU, Lisa decided she wanted attend DU even though they did not offer nonprofit management as a major.  She persuaded her DU advisor to let her create a new nonprofit management major, by modeling course requirements after other universities that offer a nonprofit management major.

“I’m excited to create the path for other student’s who want to attend DU and major in nonprofit management,” Lisa said.  “Nonprofit management is the fastest growing industry in the U.S.”

In addition to organizing AED fundraisers, Lisa organized FRHS’s Adopt a Family Christmas project, is key club secretary, drum major for the band, captain of the swim team, serves on the school’s gifted and talented advisory board and is active in National Honor Society. Outside of school, Lisa volunteers with Diversity in Learning, a nonprofit that builds and administers schools in Pakistan, and is vice chair on Fort Collin’s Youth Advisory Board, which is one of her most rewarding activities.

“It has been rewarding to work on the Youth Advisory Board and give youth a voice in the community,” she said.  “I’m excited that I’m actually going to be able to make charity and volunteer work my life.”