Student Name: Marina Falzone
Major: IBE, Finance and Computer Engineering
Hometown: Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Object: foam finger from the OFYE
Meaning behind the object: Falzone’s foam finger reminds her of the connections and experience the Office of First-Year Experience provided her while at Lehigh.
“I think the OFYE has given me a home here at Lehigh,” Falzone said. “I could never have imagined what a big part of my Lehigh journey that it has become.”
When Marina Falzone arrived at Lehigh, she remembers seeing the flash mob performed by orientation leaders welcoming first-year students during an annual kickoff event.
“It was just so amazing,” Falzone, the fourth-generation Lehigh student, said. “I was like, ‘I want to do that. That looks so awesome.’”
She applied to the Office of First-Year Experience (OFYE) and has spent the last three years there, the last of which she was an Orientation Coordinator.
“I think the OFYE has given me a home here at Lehigh,” Falzone said. “I could never have imagined what a big part of my Lehigh journey that it has become.”
It’s why one of her most prized Lehigh possessions is her foam finger from the OFYE. Making it extra special is the fact that it’s signed by her color family, which was the “Pink Fam.”
Each orientation leader is assigned a color family for training and team-building purposes. Although Falzone said the teams continue to hang out and get together long after orientation week.
Her foam finger, a symbol of school spirit, has traveled to nearly every corner of campus with Falzone. She said it has spent a lot of time in the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall as she helped train orientation leaders and in taking over a first-year group, it went along on peer presentations, as well as other adventures.
“It has been everywhere,” Falzone said.
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, or view the expanded photo essay.
