28 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Lafayette students and took place annually from 1971 through 1979, and also in 1981 and 1984. “It was the one thing that brought the women from all the different dorms together,” Stuckey said. Both Stuckey and Brouwer played in the inaugural powder-puff football game, and Brouwer went on to serve as one of the first co-captains of the women’s tennis and volleyball teams at Lehigh. Ann (Schmoyer) Story ’75 also gravitated toward athletics. She was a member of the women’s varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams, as well as the intramural softball and powder-puff football teams. A natural leader, Story was the first female commander of the Air Force ROTC’s Arnold Air Society. In addition, she was the first female cadet of Lehigh’s ROTC programs (Air Force and Army) to enroll in and complete the four-year ROTC program. She was also the first female commissioned into the United States military from Lehigh. Story said her role as commander in the ROTC program gave her confidence and made her feel accepted. “I think that was good for all of us Air Force ROTC cadets to support each other and for me to experience [being a commander], and for the men to also experience a woman in charge,” Story said. Keeping Connected While Stuckey wasn’t able to attend Reunion with Brouwer, Story and other fellow classmates, she recently reunited with nine members of the Class of 1975 to process into Lehigh’s 2025 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony. Stuckey also rang the bell at Commencement to welcome the newest Lehigh alumni. Between Reunions, Stuckey said the internet has made it easy for alumni to connect, stay in touch with each other and reminisce on their undergraduate years. “Within a week of arriving at Lehigh, it was obvious I was at the right place. A lot of that had to do with being in the first class of women,” Stuckey said. —Sydney Weaver ’25 When Lehigh admitted the inaugural class of first-year undergraduate female students 54 years ago in 1971, it was clear that the Class of 1975 was making history. For the 169 newly admitted women, their time at Lehigh would mark a major transition met with challenge and groundbreaking movement forward. Recently, the Class of 1975 celebrated 50 years since graduating. Many women from the class reunited on campus for Reunion Weekend, held June 12-15, to celebrate and reflect on this milestone. Karen Stuckey ’75 ’10P and Wendy Brouwer ’75 said there was a sense of “unpreparedness” to welcome women into the Lehigh community when they began their undergraduate careers, but that it bonded the group. “[The presence of women] was so abnormal that we went everywhere together—we kind of traveled in groups,” Stuckey said. “And so we developed really close friendships.” Forging Their Paths Stuckey, who was the first female president of the Lehigh Alumni Association, forged her own path and extracurriculars from the ground up at Lehigh, serving as class treasurer. Some women from the Class of 1975 found community through athletics, particularly through the women’s powder-puff football games. The games were played against Women from the Class of 1975 gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation as part of the first coed undergraduate class at Lehigh during Reunion Weekend. COMMUNITY | ALUMNI ʼ75 ʼ75 Class of 1975 Celebrates Coeducation at Lehigh This year marks the 50th anniversary of the graduation of Lehigh’s first coed undergraduate class. JACOB METZGER Karen Stuckey ’75 ’10P rang the bell with Ethan Riester ’25 at Lehigh’s 2025 Undergraduate Commencement.
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