Howard Polsky ’73: A Culture Hard to Duplicate
Because he grew up on Lehigh Ave. in Burlington, New Jersey, Howard Polsky ’73 added Lehigh to a list of colleges that he was given by his high school counselor. One visit was all it took for him to know he belonged on South Mountain.
Over four years, the culture shaped him. It began with a three-day band camp with the Marching 97 in place of freshman orientation. He remained with the band all four years and performed at half-time at two nationally-televised NFL games.
He joined Sigma Nu and was elected by the student body to the Forum. He welcomed the arrival of Lehigh’s first women and participated in all of the traditions – the bed races, Turkey Trot, bonfire, Rivalry football game, and intramurals.
He learned constitutional law with Howard Whitcomb, professor of government, and economics with Nicholas Balabkins, professor of economics. He got razzed by his brothers for going to Linderman Library every night but Saturday to study.
“The Lehigh culture is hard to duplicate anywhere else,” he says. “Graduates of other universities I have met in my career don’t have the same kind of feelings for their alma maters as I do for my alma mater.”