“Why I Remain Close to Lehigh” is a collection of feature stories about Lehigh University alumni volunteers and their motivation to stay involved with their alma mater.
Adam ’11 and Julie ’11 Smiga showing their Mountain Hawk spirit at the 2017 Lehigh-Lafayette football tailgate.
Julie (Frehafer) Smiga ’11 knew that, even though she had graduated from Lehigh and moved on to start her career as a systems engineer, she wanted to remain close to the school she loved and its students, alumni, and faculty.
“I’d been looking for a way to stay involved – I just didn’t know exactly how to accomplish that.”
The opportunity she’d been seeking came when one of her Lehigh friends nominated her for the Young Alumni Council (YAC).
“I didn’t know about YAC until I got that email asking me to apply. I did some research and knew it was the perfect way for me to remain involved,” Smiga said.
After joining the council, Smiga became actively involved as a member before accepting leadership roles, first as co-champion for the outreach development project and, most recently, as president. She finds it fun and rewarding and recommends getting involved in YAC to all Lehigh alumni.
“You graduate, and you’re working, but in your day-to-day life, you aren’t necessarily meeting a lot of new people,” she said, having started her position with the Department of the Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) after graduating from Lehigh. “YAC is an avenue to meet new people who have similar experiences to you.”
The biggest benefit of being on YAC, Smiga said, comes from the group’s “Inside Scoop” model.
“At each on-campus meeting — and even at some of our webinars — we have Lehigh faculty, staff, and student speakers let us know what’s going on at the university. We stay up to speed on the campus climate and future plans.”
Smiga found her way to Lehigh as an undergraduate because of her interest in physics and engineering.
“I took a tour and just fell in love with the campus and all the people I met,” she said.
She earned two Lehigh bachelor’s degrees, one in Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) and the other in mechanical engineering. In spite of a rigorous program of study, Smiga found time to be involved in a wide variety of activities, including participating in Phi Sigma Pi national honor fraternity, being a student annual fund caller for the Lehigh Liners, and being a teaching assistant for the IBE program. She says some of her most enjoyable and rewarding volunteer work was with the Lehigh Prison Project where she tutored inmates who were working toward their GEDs.
Smiga advises current students to get involved “as much as you can … in whatever interests you. It seems like a very busy time in your life, and it can be stressful – you always have somewhere to be, classes to study for, homework to do, in addition to extracurricular responsibilities. But I really think it prepares you well for life after school, so embrace it!”
The discipline of managing her time and multiple activities at Lehigh was great training for Smiga’s career with NAVAIR.
“They recruited at a Lehigh Career Fair – that’s how I came across them,” she said. The event, held in the fall and spring and now called Career Expo, typically brings around 150 companies to Stabler Arena to recruit soon-to-be graduates.
At NAVAIR, Smiga has worked on designs for large-deck amphibious assault ships and launch-and-recovery systems for unmanned aircraft. She now manages several different programs that involve visual landing aids – lighting systems that help jet pilots land on aircraft carriers. She finds her work “exciting and fast-paced.”
Smiga met her husband, Adam ’11, through the IBE program at Lehigh. They were lab partners in Physics 2 before he changed his major to finance and marketing. He also works for NAVAIR as an operations research analyst for aircraft recovery systems.
Get involved with the Young Alumni Council!
Recruitment for YAC occurs every spring, but we’re always looking for passionate and dedicated alumni to fill roles as they become vacant.
Young alumni (0-10 years out from graduation) can join by:
- Contacting Lindsay Kerr, associate director of Young Alumni Engagement, at lkk316@lehigh.edu.
- Nominating yourself or another young alumnus/a by filling out the nomination form here.