Justin Gaukler ’18 still has the paper he signed before beginning his Lehigh journey. It was a statement of intent, a good-faith promise to one day give back to the scholarship that helped make his education possible. It wasn’t a binding contract, but it was a commitment he took seriously.
That promise traces back to Donald B. Stabler ’30 and his wife, Dorothy L. Witwer, who established the Stabler Endowed Scholarship Fund in 1965. Decades later, a $34.2 million gift from the Stabler estate became a landmark contribution to their vision: ensuring generations of students could attend Lehigh, regardless of their financial circumstances.
The Stablers’ generosity is woven into campus life, from the Stabler Athletic and Convocation Center to the Stabler Teaching Award and the Dorothy L. Stabler Tower Room in Iacocca Hall on Mountaintop. But perhaps the most enduring measure of their legacy lies in the hundreds of students whose Lehigh journeys were made possible, in part, by their scholarship — and the alumni who are now helping extend that opportunity to others.
“There was no way my family could’ve afforded to have me attend Lehigh at sticker price,” said Patrick Zimmerman ’02. “When I received the Stabler scholarship, I knew there had been people behind the scholarship and, in that moment, it created a different sort of connection. The fund wasn’t some vague concept. It came from someone who believed in my access to education.”
For many Stabler Scholars, that access has been life-changing. The scholarship has been especially meaningful for first-generation college students like Emily Speakman ’18.
“I couldn’t have attended Lehigh without financial aid like the Stabler scholarship,” says Speakman. “When I think back to my time at Lehigh, I’m in awe at all the opportunities I had access to that I wouldn't have otherwise. I was a Lehigh Liner, and I remember calling alumni and asking them to donate to the very programs I was benefiting from. Being in a position to donate to those initiatives as a graduate is surreal.”
Speakman’s experience reflects the spirit behind the scholarship’s statement of intent. Recipients are asked to express a commitment to support the fund in the future, helping preserve the opportunity for years to come.
“Even back then, I felt the weight of signing that agreement,” says Gaukler. “I never had intentions to forget about it. I always knew that I was going to pay back every loan and scholarship I accepted. I want to continue to support the scholarship and do my part in helping future students in similar situations that I was in.”
For these alumni, giving back is about more than honoring a promise. It’s about ensuring other students have access to the experiences that shaped their own lives. For Gaukler, that meant building and racing cars with Baja. For Speakman, it meant spending hours studying with friends in Linderman. And for Zimmerman, it meant cultivating leadership skills that shaped him.
“Career development is very much a journey,” says Zimmerman. “I didn’t anticipate the path I’ve taken to get here, and that’s in part due to Lehigh challenging students to get out of their comfort zones and take courses across disciplines. I’m forever growing and learning, and Lehigh taught me how to do that. I’m grateful for that.”
A Lehigh education can shape a student’s future in many ways they may not yet imagine. For Stabler Scholars, that opportunity comes with the chance to make a difference in someone else’s future, too.
