When Danielle Spar ’10 and Brian Cunningham ’10 arrived at Lehigh University, it started a series of “perfect matches” that would define their future: the perfect school, a life-changing program, rewarding careers — and most of all, meeting each other, setting them up for success so they could help future students.
Matching Gifts
Because of what they’ve received, they’re contributing with a “match” of their own — through their employers’ matching gift programs. “Matching gift programs are a great benefit to working at multinational corporations,” says Brian. “It’s something we’ve been doing for years now. Danielle and I make a joint gift, and it can triple the amount. It’s a very powerful thing to do, especially if it’s done year after year.”
The person who inspired them the most to give back was J. Richard Aronson, the founder and executive director of the Martindale Student Associates Honors Program, of which they were both members. Cunningham says, “Whenever we were at dinner, Professor Aronson would always say a toast to Harry Martindale ’27 ’84H, who made the initial contribution to start the program. He made such a big point about how important it was to remember all the people who have contributed to the program that made it possible for all of us.”
As Professor Aronson toasted Harry Martindale, Danielle and Brian now toast Professor Aronson with their matching gifts. Says Brian, “We’re honoring what he did for us, for the other students in our class, and all the students that came before and will come after us.”
The Martindale Program
Even though Danielle and Brian were in the same graduating class, they didn’t meet each other until they were accepted into the select Martindale Student Associates Honors Program in the spring of their junior year. Their experience as Martindale scholars, working and meeting with several professors and hearing from numerous speakers for three semesters, and the research trip they took to Turkey as part of the program, was transformative for both of them.
“It was such a unique opportunity, especially as an undergrad,” says Danielle. “We immersed ourselves in learning about Turkey. Then when we arrived, we met with people in government, in business, and I met with a reporter, which was specific to my research paper on freedom of the press in Turkey,” she remembers. “We had a very interesting and candid conversation. It was an amazing experience.”
Brian adds, “I was so aware that we were in a country that had a totally different worldview than we had in the United States, and we got to meet people and see things that we never would have otherwise.” Brian and Danielle became friends with each other and the other students during their Martindale experience. “We still have friends from that trip,” he says. “And we’re still in touch with Sharon Bernstein ’77, the program director, who is retired now. We visit her and her husband every year at the holidays.”
Finding Careers … and Each Other
Danielle chose a psychology major and an economics minor but wasn’t quite sure what career path to take. “I found that I really liked the business classes,” she remembers. It wasn’t until she visited Goldman Sachs as part of the Lehigh Externships program that she found her passion.
“I spent the day at Goldman Sachs, and they explained what exactly they did and what kind of interns they were looking for, and I just fell in love with the company,” she says. Danielle was selected for a summer internship at the company’s Jersey City office. “If it weren’t for Career Services and the externship and internship interviews, I never would have considered Goldman Sachs. It was Lehigh Career Services 100% that led me on that career path.” Danielle spent 12 years working for the company and recently began an operational risk position at Scotiabank.
After graduation, Brian, a statistics major, went straight to grad school. “I wanted to find something that blended math and finance, and I was accepted to the M.S. in mathematics in finance program at NYU Courant, one of the strongest and most challenging programs of its kind,” he says. He was hired by Bank of America before he graduated from the program. “Lehigh set me up for success at NYU,” he says. “And I’ve been at Bank of America for 13 years.”
While they were friends at Lehigh, it wasn’t until Danielle and Brian graduated that they became a couple. They lived in London for a few years (including meeting up with the United Kingdom cohort of the Martindale program in London in 2017), got married, and began a family.
Ensuring the Legacy Continues
Danielle and Brian are grateful that they can support the Martindale program and Lehigh University to ensure its programs continue to change lives as they did for them. Says Danielle, “Because of donations, we were able to go on this trip and have those life-changing experiences. That feeling of wanting to provide that for future students has always been important to us.”
