Brown and White Vol. 132 no. 9

              The Brown and White Vol. 132 No. 9
Friday, March 3, 2017 ‘All the Lehigh News First’
From coast to coast
Anna Simoneau/B&W Staff
Lehigh aims to increase presence on West Coast
Tuition remis-sion
keeps
students close
to home
By MARISSA McCLOY
Designer
Lehigh’s Western Regional Office
is working to retain the university’s
presence through West Coast jobs
after graduation.
About 10 percent of Lehigh grad-uates
live on the West Coast, said
John Welty, vice provost of Lehigh’s
Western Regional Office, which is
located in San Mateo, California.
That number is close to 8,000 alum-ni.
Many graduates stay on the East
Coast after graduation, but Welty
said he thinks half of the newly-re-cruited
students will return to jobs
in their home states.
“One of the things we like to do
for those who are interested in com-ing
to the western states is to make
it easier to get a first job or a second
job by connecting the student body
with enterprises here,” Welty said.
Alex Valentino, ’16, works at EPS
Renewables in California as a busi-ness
developer. His job began after
building relationships with EPS in
India during a global social venture
class. He helped get the compa-ny’s
American branch running in
California.
He said even though people con-sidering
West Coast jobs might only
think of media or technology posi-tions,
there are other options like
start-up companies. He thinks more
Lehigh students should apply for
jobs on the West Coast because
there are more companies focused
on the younger generations, espe-cially
when it comes to hiring.
Teresa Briggs, the managing
partner for Deloitte’s Western
region, said going to school on the
East Coast does not mean you have
to work in that region. She said
while it is harder for East Coast
students to understand operations
By MADISON HOFF
Assistant News Editor
Lehigh’s tuition remission plan
allows students with parents who
work at Lehigh to attend school for
little to no cost.
Under the plan, students whose
parents have worked at the univer-sity
for fewer than five years are
given 50 percent off of their tuition
cost, and students whose parents
have worked at the university for
more than five years receive full
tuition coverage.
Regardless of how long the par-ent
has worked at the university, a
student can receive full summer tui-tion
coverage. Currently 90 Lehigh
undergraduate and 10 graduate stu-dents
qualify for the tuition remis-sion
plan, said Toni Lee Febbo, the
director of HR services.
When Lehigh employees reach
their fifth year with the university
while their child is enrolled, tuition
prices change from half coverage to
full coverage.
Febbo said Lehigh’s policy is rich
First-generation housing community created for fall 2017
Lauryn Ragone/B&W Staff
Susan Ellis, the program director for the Academic Advising Center, sits at her desk Monday in
Maginnes Hall. Ellis is one of the advisors for the first-generation themed-housing community.
By LAURYN RAGONE
Associate News Editor
Being the first to try something
new can be unnerving. Being the
first person in your family to
attend college can be terrifying.
This past November, the club
F1RST held a panel discussion
about ways to enhance the Lehigh
experience for first-generation
students. One idea was to incor-porate
a first-generation residen-tial
community.
Today, eight first-generation
students are signed up to live in a
themed-housing community locat-ed
in Drinker House.
Incoming freshman and trans-fer
students will also have the
opportunity to sign up for this
themed housing set to begin in
the fall of 2017.
Zara Ahmad, ’16, ’17G, was one
of the first students to propose a
housing community for first-gen-eration
students at Lehigh. This
fall, she will serve as the commu-nity’s
Gryphon.
“I am working hard to bridge the
gap between all the first-genera-tion
different initiatives on cam-pus,”
Ahmad said. “I’m excited to
start housing where first-genera-tion
students of all colors, iden-tities
and socioeconomic statuses
can come together.”
During her time at Lehigh,
Ahmad became involved with
the Lehigh University Summer
Scholars Institute, which focus-es
on acclimating first-genera-tion
students to college through a
three-week summer program. She
said she is excited to be involved
in another opportunity where stu-dents
with similar problems and
stresses can identify with each
other.
The goal of the themed-hous-ing
community is to bring stu-dents
together in a welcoming
and relaxed environment.
Ahmad said this is a community
where the group of students truly
understands the first-generation
Children of Lehigh
employees receive up
to half or full tuition
coverage
See TUITION Page 4 See WEST COAST Page 3
See HOUSING Page 4