Fall 2010 - Lehman College

In 1995, the Lehman alumni network had grown to twenty-two states
as well as Puerto Rico. Fifteen years later, Lehman alumni are living coast-to-coast,
in every state in the nation. Two-thirds are still in New York (45,286), but another
one-third can be found everywhere else, with large contingents in New Jersey
(3,582) and Florida (3,220) and even some in remote regions out west, like
Alaska (6), Montana (6), and Wyoming (4). We invited some of them
to tell us about their lives far from the Bronx.
Michael Weinberg
Dorchester, Mass.
Attorney and Partner,
LeClairRyan
M.A., 1973
36
In 1973, I received my master’s
degree in mathematics
from Lehman College. I
was teaching full time at the
Bronx High School of Science
while working toward my degree. After teaching for seven years, I
decided to go to law school. In 1977, I started to work toward my
degree at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, and
then I secured a job in Boston and stayed. I now work at a law firm,
LeClairRyan, as a litigation attorney.
I don’t see enough of my New York
friends. Many of them still live in or
around the City. But for me the transition
was not too difficult. I came to a
new environment, made friends at the
law school, in my community, and at
other law firms. In many ways I brought
New York with me. When anybody asks
me where I come from, I say the Bronx.
They can hear it in my accent—which
remains. Also, I brought my street
sense from the City to the
town of Boston.
When anybody asks me
where I come from, I say the
Bronx. They can hear it in
my accent—which remains.
The math program at Lehman
was a difficult and challenging
one. That intensity helped
me a lot in terms of meeting the rigors of law school. I have warm
memories of the professors. On the lighter side, one summer I took
a golf course at Lehman as a gym requirement. I never had an
opportunity to play golf before, and I just remember having a good
time practicing golf at Lehman. I’ve never played golf since then. It
was an opportunity to learn a country-club type sport in the middle
of the City.
Austin Frye, Esq.
Miami Beach, Fla.
CEO, Frye Financial Center
B.A., 1975
I always visited Miami during my
Lehman College spring breaks and
loved it, so shortly after graduation I
came on down. It was very difficult to
leave my family and friends, but in a
vacation town like Miami, friends and
family frequently visit. I think bringing
down my New York City street smarts
helped me be successful in business
here. I currently own a financial planning
firm and a law firm.
I miss most the
edginess of New York
City and Manhattan
and the down-home
earthiness and
honesty of the
people of
the Bronx.
A good liberal arts education from
Lehman along with a mathematics
degree gave me a great foundation to
launch my career. I remain in contact with a few Lehman graduates
in New York and in California, none in Miami. I am embarrassed
to say that I haven’t been on campus since I graduated in 1975.
I miss most the edginess of New York City and Manhattan and the
down-home earthiness and honesty of the people of the Bronx.
I loved the promise of spring, when anything seemed possible, and
footballs and Frisbees flying overhead on the Lehman campus.
20 Lehman Today/Fall 2010 – Winter 2011