“She categorized me as ‘talent-free’ and would remind me of that at least weekly,” Scigliano recalls. This could have discouraged him, but instead, he chose to be resilient and let this negativity fuel his desire to learn.

“I heard about St. Louis for the first time in April and only three months later I was already on the plane to the US. I will never forget how he [Scigliano’s Dad] walked into my room on a Thursday night in May saying ‘Lukas, we’re going to America!’”

Scigliano has always been the kind of person to seek adventure and change so he was excited about the possibility of moving to a new country. Although Scigliano loves Germany and being around his friend and family, he was ready for a change of scenery.
“All that we Germans know about teenage life in America comes from what we see in the movies,” Scigliano said. “Central is big… and I just had a good feeling about it.”

When the Scigliano family came to the U.S. on July 25, 2015, Lukas ultimately chose to come to Parkway Central over going to Priory so that he could have the ‘American teenager experience’. He still considers his decision to come to Parkway Central as one of the best decisions of his life to this day.

Scigliano soon realized that there was definitely a language barrier between him and the other students.

“I was always pretty self-confident and never really had problems with going up and talking to new people. But without being able to talk and express my way the way I want to it was different,” Scigliano said. As soon as he realized that he wasn’t as fluent as he thought, he took matters into his own hands.

“I decided to work hard and do pretty much everything in English from that day on. TV, books, phone, basically everything in English,” Scigliano said, “It took about a year and a half and I was almost fluent.” At age 10, Scigliano received the gift he had been asking for since he was 7 years old; A brand new drum set.

“I remember my dad watching a live recorded “SlipKnot” concert and I happened to see Joey Jordison’s drum solo. His speed, the accuracy, and him spinning around on an upside down platform just never let go of me.” Ever since, Scigliano has been in love with many genres of music, practicing the drums for an hour and a half every day.

“I’d say first of all it’s just a challenge that I love to face and an amazing passion for me. Besides that, it’s always been a type of therapy for me as well. Whenever I get really upset or stressed because of whatever I take care of it with drumming. Hitting up to 210/220 beats a minute is a great way to get rid of any tension.”

Music is a big part of Scigliano’s life and he has been a hobby of his since he was a little kid. As he nears graduation, Scigliano is very passionate about psychology and plans to study medicine in college whether in the United States or in Germany.

“For now I actually just got the opportunity to stay in the states again,” said Scigliano.“This decision is very difficult though and won’t be easy to make.”
Scigliano plans to graduate Parkway Central High School in the spring of 2018 and when he does he can’t wait to send that 5th-grade teacher of his a letter showing his hard work and dedication ending in a success.

“All I’m gonna say is that I’m very excited to send her an email with my graduation picture along with the words of discouragement she would put me down with in grade school.”