MONACA, Pa. — Alumna Neeka Filippi returned to Penn State Beaver on Oct. 4 for a very special reason.
The 2013 graduate was named the campus’ 2025 Outstanding Alumni of the Year.
Filippi, now a field implementation team manager with State Farm, has dedicated her time and talents to numerous organizations in her post-graduate career. She serves as a professional mentor and role model in Residence for Girls Inc. of Greater Pittsburgh, previously served as director of the CCBC Foundation, and now holds the role as vice president of the JP Recovery Foundation.
Filippi is widely recognized for her philanthropic spirit and passion for supporting her local community, said Andrew DiPietrantonio, director of campus development.
“As classmate of Neeka's and a teammate of her husband, Alex, during our time together at Penn State Beaver, it is a true joy to celebrate Neeka for her accomplishments in her career, her philanthropy and service to the local community,” DiPietrantonio said. “Neeka is our youngest Outstanding Alumni Award receipt, and it's encouraging to see her recognized for all that she does and will continue to do in the future."
The Illinois native initially chose Penn State because she wanted to pursue a pre-law degree. Penn State quickly became her second home, she said.
Just as she did in her professional career, Filippi quickly got involved at Penn State. She was a THON student supporter, in student government, a member of the Black Student Union, a Lion Ambassador, president of the Blue and White Society and a resident assistant.
All seemed to be going well, then, in an instant, her life trajectory was changed.
Filippi was in a car accident while on her way to the Altoona campus. She said she was given the option of a recommended withdrawal from school at the time to recover. This left her with a large school bill for that semester she had to pay before she could return.
This is where her internal drive kicked in, she said.
“I come from a family of hard workers, giving up has never been an option and I wasn’t going to let this situation change that,” she said.
Knowing she needed to make as much money as she could, Filippi said she took a position as a sales intern at a car dealership where she could earn commission. Within the first week, she sold two cars and revamped the lot layout to make the dealership more efficient.
She said that led to her getting promoted to an internship position in the dealership’s human resources department. She also earned enough money to return to school.
Filippi said that being near the airport so that she could frequently and easily return home led her to the Beaver campus.
At Beaver she was very involved as president of the Blue White Society, working two on-campus jobs in Academic Affairs and at the gym while doing more than 20 credits a semester to graduate on time.
It was also at the Beaver campus that she met fellow student Alex, the man who would become her husband and partner in their future philanthropic endeavors.
The couple — who now have a two-year-old son, A.J., who Filippi describes as “bright, inquisitive and creative” — run the JP Recovery Foundation along with their family and friends. Filippi said the organization was started by Alex’s family after his brother John Paul (JP) was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him a quadriplegic.
The mission of the JP Recovery Foundation is to help others live a healthy and supported life through offering sensory-friendly activities, scholarships to high school and collegiate students and #StrongLikeJP family grants in their local community.
The foundation provided a gift to the Beaver campus earlier this year that was used to purchase a Meta headset and Liminal Virtual Reality experience. These items aim to enhance the sensory room in the Center for Academic Achievement.
The JP Foundation work is a volunteer effort for the couple who both have full-time jobs, but Filippi said because of her experience she “understood something very few people understand … It was not a choice, but it is a purpose we hold very dear: To bring a small light to those in our community who have or currently are journeying through some of their family’s most difficult situations.”
Her connection to Penn State Beaver remains strong. Her younger brother, DJ, is a first-year student on campus. Filippi said she is extremely proud of him and is excited to see all that he will accomplish through his Penn State experience.
“I’m truly grateful for the entire campus, from every friend I’ve made along the way to each member of the faculty and staff,” she said. “Penn State has been such a major blessing in my life and has changed my life for the better. We’ve written our chapter, and it was a good one. ... So, to the next generation of Nittany Lions, I say, you’ve got this, even when the days are tough, the papers are long, it’s worth every moment because WE ARE.”