She is actively involved in the Jackson community. As a member of Calvary Baptist Church, she serves as a Sunday School teacher. Her community involvement has included service as president of the Fraternal Order of Policy Auxiliary and as a member of the Board of Directors at the Cerebral Palsy Center. In 1977 Cepparulo was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. As the condition destroys myelin, a fatty substance that sheaths nerve fibers, lesions develop on the brain and spinal cord.
Patients experience a variety of symptoms, most notably fatigue and lack of mobility in their limbs.
Cepparulo could have easily become distraught. However, she refused to let her anxieties conqueror her. She became involved with the Multiple Sclerosis Society and led in the establishment of a local chapter in Jackson. Now, she is trained as an M.S. counselor and helps newly-diagnosed patients work through the same anxieties she experienced 20 years ago. Tamara Trexler-Robinson , a 1984 alumna and a resident of Nashville, was honored with the Outstanding Young Achiever Award.