Scholar Stories: Lampani Carries Lessons Learned in USMC to Further U-M Success
11/25/2020 9:45:00 AM | Football
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Jack Pennington
Three years ago, while most of the current University of Michigan football players were in high school dreaming of heroics in the Big House, senior linebacker Jonathan Lampani had similar hopes, but with one big difference. He was working on his game in the sand of Afghanistan's Helmand Province, where he was stationed as an infantry team leader in the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
Lampani, who has always liked testing his limits, enlisted in the USMC Reserves out of high school and served in the reserves throughout the first semester of his freshman year at Michigan in 2017. While Lampani enjoyed what he calls his "first stint" at Michigan, what he really wanted was a chance at an overseas deployment.
An opportunity for deployment did not come immediately, so Lampani focused on his studies and also became the U.S. Intercollegiate Boxing Association national champion as a member of the U-M Boxing Club.
Lampani is a little uneasy when asked about his title.
"It was kind of like a hobby," he said. "It was just something I would do to stay active while I waited for the next step."
He isn't pretentious about the championship he earned. He says he just fought hard and that the coaches did a great job of putting him in a position to win. Lampani was deployed later that year, cutting his second semester short.
He went on to lead a distinguished military career, serving as the patrol leader for more than 120 security missions in Afghanistan, enabling senior USMC leadership to advise hundreds of Afghan soldiers in combat and assisting logistical operations.
"The majority of what I did was lead patrols and make sure our base was secure," said Lampani. "My job was to make sure our U.S. advisors stayed safe and that our patrols were safe."
Lampani also was the platoon radio operator who helped enable more than 500 successful missions from his post. Lampani had a simple answer when describing his attitude toward those missions.
"Just doing the best job at whatever it is you had to do," he said.
Lampani (right) stands with Sgt. Jason Antczak in front of a guard post in Afghanistan
But Lampani did his job so well he was awarded a Certificate of Commendation for Superior Performance of Duties. He credits his inspiration to enlist to his grandparents, who both served in the military, and his inspiration to play football at Michigan to his father, Jon Sr., who passed away just before Lampani left for Afghanistan.
"He was always asking me, 'Why don't you take your shot and try out for the Michigan football team?'" Lampani said. "When he passed away, I went all in on it. Throughout my deployment, it [playing football at Michigan] gave me something else to work for, a light at the end of the tunnel."
After a seven-month deployment, Lampani returned from Afghanistan and decided to pursue the dream he and his father had shared.
"It didn't seem possible, but I decided to go all in on it," he said.
With the same mindset he has had his entire life, Lampani aggressively committed to the preparations for walk-on tryouts. He credits PowerStrength Gym, a facility in Grand Rapids, Mich., with a track record of helping walk-on hopefuls trying to make college rosters, for keeping him physically ready.
Throughout his first semester back in Ann Arbor, Lampani worked out of the intramural building and much like his deployment, he waited patiently for his next opportunity. An Instagram post on the Michigan football page was Lampani's call to action.
"They posted, 'Walk-on tryouts are tomorrow.' I just showed up and the rest was history," he said.
Lampani made the team in the spring of 2018 and earned his first varsity letter in 2019. Coming from the USMC, he was not sure what was left that could surprise him, until he met his new teammates.
"Everyone is a superstar in your head, then you meet them and they're humble and you realize they're not that different from you," said Lampani. "It was cool to see these superstars have the same goals as you."
Now, Lampani juggles being a student in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and varsity football, all while still being enlisted in the USMC Reserves.
When asked how he maintains that balance, Lampani goes back to his days in the Marine Corps.
"It's all a grind, but I feel well-equipped for it because of the Marine Corps," he said. "It gave me the mental tools to succeed in both worlds. I feel very fortunate to have been exposed to the world from this perspective so young and to use some of the lessons learned through my time in the Marine Corps as guiding principles for the rest of my life."
Lampani has done more than just succeed -- he has excelled. He was an Academic All-Big Ten selection last year and will be graduate next year from one of the world's most prestigious business schools with a degree in business administration.
"Being at Michigan has given me the opportunity to surround myself with some of the brightest and most talented people in the world," he said. "The challenge of elevating to the level of those around me, whether at practice or in the classroom, has made me a better person and has prepared me well for whatever lays ahead.""
Unfortunately, a torn ACL will keep Lampani off the football field this season, but the injury has not kept him from staying true to the hard-charging mantra he has lived by.
"Everything I do, I try to go hard at, and if something doesn't work out, I'll go at the next thing with the same intensity," Lampani said. "I always have."
When asked what the future holds, Lampani acknowledged that he is not exactly sure. But he is sure about what he wants it to be like.
"I want to do something where I keep the same pace I've been going at," he said. "Keep the ball rolling and keep this momentum I have in life."
Lampani also credits his USMC experiences with a desire to be a part of what is happening throughout society, and he expects to choose a similar path moving forward. He wants to use the skills he has acquired to create value in the world.
Based on his myriad accomplishments and contributions to date, expect much more to come from this hard-charging Michigan senior.
