A Testament of Faith

Austin Lizana is on a mission to Mars. The junior mechanical engineering major wants to be part of the engineering team that puts the first person on the red planet. Growing up in Kiln, the Stennis Space Center was the backdrop of his childhood and inspiration for his future career path.

“Space really is the final frontier,” said Lizana. “Right now, it’s the sole aeronautical mission to send someone to Mars, and I’d at least like to help send someone there. It’s hard not to be fascinated by this floating blue and green orb that we’re on and the mysteries of our galaxy. Growing up that close to a NASA facility certainly influenced me to become an engineer.”

Lizana’s fascination and interest for space came about early on in high school. He credits his physics teacher and former Stennis employee, Keene Golding, for giving him the hands-on learning and experiments he would continue in his engineering courses at Mississippi State. Focusing on mechanical engineering, he is acquiring a broad spectrum of skills and knowledge to apply his interests and work with his favorite topics of projectiles, motion, energy and forces.

“Mr. Golding provided me with the foundation and love for engineering,” said Lizana. “We had great handson experiments and learning opportunities that led me toward engineering after high school. I still get that same hands-on factor here at Mississippi State. I’m currently working in a quality assurance engineering co-op at Airbus Helicopters in Columbus, where I get to apply what I learn in my classrooms and labs to the real world.”

While Lizana may know where his future is going, there was a time that he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to attend school at all. In August 2013, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that starts in the cells that form bones. Lizana attended only one day of his seventh-grade year before being diagnosed. The tumor was in his tibia, leaving him homebound for the rest of the school year as he underwent surgeries and treatment.

Today, Lizana is eight years cancer-free. He knows that everything from his diagnosis to his recovery to his future educational endeavors was for a reason and part of God’s plan. As a junior, he is involved with Engineering Without Borders, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the MSU Baptist Student Union where he leads worship every Sunday and plays guitar. Lizana also is the recipient of the Jimmy and Rebecca Vickery Annual Scholarship at MSU, which allows him to stay involved and focus on his goals without the added pressure of financial burdens.

In the following years, he still had to balance his education and health. He graduated from high school in the top 10 in his class, all while pushing through obstacles like surgeries and rehabilitation.

“You never know what a student is going through or has gone through,” said Lizana. “Any type of support helps in ways that many don’t realize. The support that I receive from the Vickery’s scholarship allows me to come to Mississippi State and not have to worry about everything else that is going on in the background, like medical needs or insurance.”

The Vickerys, who established the annual scholarship in 2014, know first-hand the importance of scholarships. Both Jimmy and Rebecca earned their degrees from MSU in 1970. Their son John David followed suit and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from MSU in 2000. The Madison couple was inspired to give back after seeing the positive effect a scholarship had on their son’s educational success.

“We saw how much it meant to John when he received a scholarship,” said Rebecca. “Meeting our scholarship recipients, like Austin, gives us satisfaction knowing that we can help them through these crucial years, so they can focus on becoming well-rounded individuals and get involved outside the classroom. You can tell that Austin is a respected and loved member of the Mississippi State community. We’re grateful to be a part of his educational journey.”

“I’m not sure what my future holds, but whatever it entails, I know God will be a part of it,” said Lizana. “There are going to be days where you get a 100% on your final, and there are days where you get a cancer diagnosis. Those in-between days are when I try to broadcast the same level of contentment and happiness because that’s all that we have on this earth. Don’t waste a second of your day being down and out—be a light in this world and lift others up.”