Aliberti Family: At WPI, It’s all About Family and Friends

Although referring to the WPI community as a family may sometimes seem a bit over the top, for many WPI students and alumni, WPI community members are indeed family and friends.

John Aliberti '96 provides yet another wonderful example of WPI being woven into the fabric of one’s life. The computer science major has been with Pegasystems Inc. for twenty-seven years, and is currently a Fellow Software Engineer working as a leader for the company’s Performance and Resilience Tribe.

A self-proclaimed hands-on learner, John shares WPI’s project-based learning was his primary reason for choosing WPI, and that his Major Qualifying Project (MQP) had an especially strong impact on his career. “In classes you are given assignments that you know can be completed in a certain period. With the MQP however, I learned the real-world lesson that an idea may not be possible given limits on time and cost. I also learned how to work with others and trust my team members to get things done.” As an extra MQP bonus, John shares, “My MQP partner, Gabe Edwards '96 and I have been working together at Pegasystems Inc. for twenty-seven years! In fact, my closest friends at WPI are each still a part of my life.”

One could argue John’s closest friend is his wife and fellow alum Gilda (Medeiros) Aliberti '95. Reflecting on her journey to WPI, Gilda shares, “I knew from the minute I saw NASA offered as an MQP option at WPI that I was absolutely positive I wanted to go there. I applied for early admission to the school, got accepted, and fulfilled my dream of doing my MQP at NASA. And I loved every minute of it. I always wanted to be an astronaut, and the experience of working with NASA engineers was amazing. It helped me learn about the working world, gave me a sense of what to expect in industry, and played a major role in me landing my first job at Lockheed Martin.”

And if alumni colleagues and spouses aren’t enough for this friends and family story, John and Gilda recently delivered the second-generation Aliberti family member to the Hill. Sharing his goal while on campus is to exceed in all his classes and to participate in clubs. Evan Aliberti '27 says “It feels amazing to follow in the footsteps of my parents, as I am carrying on their WPI legacy.”

When asked how it feels to have Evan enrolled and beginning his WPI journey, John says, “Scary! I know how hard the WPI workload can be, but I also know the challenge is worth it to prepare Evan for his career. And I am comforted by the knowledge that there are so many resources at WPI to help him succeed.”