Story by Emma Frederickson
Courtesy Photo
Nathan Balderas ’27 finds motivation all over campus.
Throughout his freshman year, Nathan Balderas ’27 refused to ride the bus up the steep hill to his dorm. Even after the grueling climb up the hill, an additional climb up stairs awaited him. It’s an annoyance most college students would try to avoid, yet it never kept him from getting home—and Balderas’ grit didn’t stop with his arduous commute.
“You just have to get up the staircase,” he explains. “That’s how I approach all things in life. At the end of the day, the consequences are on you. Your drive has to be internal.”
Balderas, an IBE (Integrated Business and Engineering program) student, applies this motivation to his dual degrees in finance and industrial systems engineering. He says Lehigh’s IBE program is intense, but it’s an environment he’s used to. Balderas attended Wichita High School East, one of the largest schools in Kansas. Though the student body was enormous, he was part of the high school’s International Baccalaureate Diploma program—a cohort that is tight-knit and hard-working, much like the IBE program at Lehigh. To Balderas, being around like-minded students is yet another source of motivation. He says seeing his friends and peers work through challenges helps him realize that he can succeed too.
Not only is Balderas finding his own motivation through the campus community, he’s inspiring others in the process. Balderas is a “Gryphon”—Lehigh’s title for resident assistants. He applauds his residents who approach him on campus and tell him of their successes. Balderas says acting as a resource for students from all walks of life has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of his collegiate career.
Balderas also gives back to the campus community as the president of Lehigh’s chapter of Scholars of Finance, a national student organization dedicated to inspiring integrity and value in the finance leaders of tomorrow. Balderas joined Scholars of Finance in his freshman year and later held several executive board positions, which were instrumental in his professional development. Balderas believes his involvement in the club motivated him to learn and teach simultaneously, an environment that he says fosters “accelerated growth.” The values the organization teaches helped him better understand what he was looking for in his own career.
Off campus, Balderas has applied his unwavering determination in several professional positions. He completed Lehigh’s Silicon Valley Innovation Internship program with Cyprotech and worked as a finance intern for the City of Wichita. Balderas is currently interning in audit and tax with EY’s Launch program.
Next summer, Balderas will work in investment banking at Citi. He hopes to apply for a deferred MBA program at Lehigh and continue reinvesting his knowledge into the community.