Stephanie Olexa & Seth Weber Scholarship Fund
Established in 2014, the Stephanie Olexa and Seth Weber Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships to high school seniors who are pursing either the Life Sciences or Criminal Justice in post-secondary education.
Stephanie Olexa was born and raised in the South Side of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Her father worked for Bethlehem Steel. Her mother was a homemaker and a seamstress.
Stephanie was the first member of her family to attend college, and she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. She went on to attend Temple University where she obtained her Ph.D. degree in BioChemistry. Stephanie then obtained her Master’s in Business Administration degree (M.B.A.) from Lehigh University.
After completing her Ph.D., Stephanie worked at Temple University Medical School, Rohm and Haas and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., then started her own business, Benchmark Analytics, an environmental testing laboratory. The laboratory conducted environmental testing on water, air, soil and food samples. Stephanie was President and operated the business for 20 years, and then sold the business.
Stephanie is now a Certified Leadership Coach (Georgetown University) and provides business coaching and consulting services to new and existing businesses. She is also an Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and workshop leader at the Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation at Lehigh University.
Seth Weber was born and raised in Queens (Astoria) New York City. He lived in a housing project called Queensview. His father was a chemist who started and ran his own printing ink consulting business. His mother was a homemaker, teacher and volunteer at New York City museums.
In his senior year of high school in Teaneck, New Jersey, Seth had the opportunity to begin an internship with his local police department, the Teaneck Police. Seth enjoyed all of the good work that many police officers perform on a daily basis by serving and protecting the public. Seth attended Rutgers University and, together with the President of Rutgers University, created a four year Criminal Justice degree. Seth received the very first Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice awarded by Rutgers University. Seth then attended Temple University Law School in Philadelphia and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, passed the Bar Exam and became an attorney in Pennsylvania.
Seth worked almost his entire career as a lawyer in the criminal justice system. He started as an Assistant Public Defender in Bucks County, then an Assistant District Attorney in Bucks County. Eventually he became a federal prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney, in Philadelphia and Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he remained for 26 years.
Currently, Seth is an Adjunct Professor at DeSales University in Lehigh County, PA both in the Undergraduate Criminal Justice Department and in the Master’s in Criminal Justice Program. He also volunteers at the Bucks County Legal Aid Office in Doylestown, PA as an attorney handling Protection From Abuse cases in court for victims of domestic violence and abuse.
The Stephanie Olexa and Seth Weber Scholarship eligibility requirements are:
- High school seniors from accredited high schools (public, private or charter) in Lehigh, Northampton or Bucks Counties;
- Students attending Bucks County Community College, Northampton Community College or Lehigh Carbon Community College;
- Students who are or will be enrolled in an accredited post-secondary educational institution in the fall of the year the scholarship is awarded;
- Students who intend to major in Criminal Justice or Law Enforcement or the Life Sciences; and
- Preference for students who will be the first in their families to pursue education beyond the high school level and/or to those students from low income households, defined as household income of less than two times the poverty rate.
To apply for the scholarships please click the links below.
Stephanie Olexa and Seth Weber Scholarship for Criminal Justice
Stephanie Olexa and Seth Weber Scholarship for the Life Sciences
Gifts to the Fund can be made by submitting a check, payable to the Stephanie Olexa and Seth Weber Scholarship Fund, to the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation, 840 West Hamilton Street, Suite 310, Allentown, PA 18101. Gifts can also be made via credit card by clicking the link below.
Make a gift to the Stephanie Olexa and Seth Weber Scholarship Fund
