Name: Cooper Delemus ’26
Major: Bioengineering on the biopharmaceutical track
Hometown: San Diego, California
Object: Napoleon hat and table tennis racket
Meaning Behind the Object:
Delemus has become synonymous with his Napoleon hat, a defining feature he began wearing since his first year on campus. He bought the hat in high school because of his interest in French history and specifically, Napoleon. After sporting it for the first few weeks at Lehigh, Delemus said it helped him “stand out” so professors and new friends would recognize him. Eventually, his goal became to wear the hat for the next four years. Delemus enrolled in French both semesters in his first year at Lehigh and then studied abroad that summer in Rennes, the capital city of Brittany, France for two months.
Another symbolic object for Delemus is his table tennis racket, which is Japanese penhold style where only one side is rubber. During his summer studying abroad in France, Delemus joined a table tennis club practicing against high-level opponents. After returning to Lehigh in the fall, he became president of the table tennis club and collaborated with the Korean Student Association to purchase penhold-style rackets and teach other students how to play with them.
“Be authentic and find somewhere that you can be who you want to be and that people accept you for. Don’t try to make yourself fit into places and groups that you have to suppress parts of yourself or change them to be in with those people.”
The Class of 2026 reflects on the keepsakes, memories and milestones that shaped their Lehigh experience. Through personal stories and meaningful objects, these Future Makers share moments of growth, discovery and connection. Read the stories behind the keepsakes
