First-gen alumni couple credits La Salle with career success: “I’m ready to give back.”   

By Rebecca Docter

Zipping through the halls of La Salle University’s computer science department, Diego Calderin, ’83, and Linda Schaefer Calderin, ’83, felt at home. It was 1979, and a campus committee had organized a roller skating night: Whether students were actually allowed to dash around indoors on skates, surging with adrenaline and the wind whipping through their hair, is up for debate. 

“I remember doing laps around these buildings, and I think teachers and professors were looking at us like, ‘Who are these people?’” Diego said recently. Now, 43 years later, that night is just one of the Calderins’ many fond memories of their La Salle education. 

Memorable computer science professors Samuel Wiley, Peg McManus, Stephen Andrilli, and Stephen Longo helped motivate the West Chester, Pa., couple, who pursued computer science careers post-graduation. Linda worked in the biostatistics department of Smith Kline & French Pharmaceuticals (now GlaxoSmithKline), performing computer support work. She went on to set up the first help desk at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca), before focusing on consulting work part-time while raising the couple’s three children. Just prior to retirement, she taught as an adjunct professor at Cabrini and Immaculata universities, then moved to remote computer science courses in 2016. “I found it fascinating,” she said. 

As a woman in STEM, Linda said she came up against adversity, but she credited her success to her confidence and strong STEM foundation, which helped her adapt to the constantly changing computer industry. “For most of my career, I worked in male-dominated departments, yet I felt that my ideas were respected, probably because I was confident enough to voice my opinions,” Linda recalled. She also went on to earn her MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.

Meanwhile, with a go-getting attitude, Diego worked at a tech start-up for eight years before taking the skills he learned professionally and at La Salle and started his own digital systems integration company, Anexinet. “It was Linda’s confidence that transferred over to me and said ‘You know what? You can do this,’” Diego said. “I knew how to grow it organically, without going into debt, without having to secure angel funding or anything like that, which is the way a lot of tech companies today get started. We were able to bootstrap with our own cash and diligence.”

Over the years, Diego also worked as a GE software engineer, a consultant, and, most recently, as co-founder and managing partner of Banbury Systems, an internet-of-things (IoT) data platform. Now retired, the Calderins are still involved in their communities through nonprofit work.

Throughout their careers, the Calderins have always kept La Salle at the forefront of their minds. Diego maintained membership in the University’s Board of Trustees for a decade in addition to serving as an advisory board member for the Department of Integrated Science, Business, and Technology (ISBT) and the School of Business’ Center for Entrepreneurship. Last November, Diego earned the John J. Finley, ’24, Award, which is presented each year to La Salle alumni who have exhibited outstanding service to the University or the Alumni Association.

About 30% of La Salle’s students are first-generation students, those who are the first in their families to attend college. Diego and Linda also held that designation when they enrolled at the University. They were both children of Philadelphia, and they came to La Salle on scholarship—Diego remembers living at home to save money, biking the five minutes to campus each day, and Linda had a full scholarship, which included campus housing. “La Salle helped us out,” Diego said. “I wouldn’t have been able to go to a private college without a scholarship, so I always felt that you pay it forward.”

In recognition of their experiences, and with hopes of giving other first-generation students a chance at La Salle’s world-class education, Diego and Linda have made a planned gift to the University. They believe strongly in the mission of the Christian Brothers: to serve others through education. Their gift will support scholarships for women and Latinx students pursuing careers in STEM. 

“Diego serving on the Board of Trustees helped us get reacquainted with the Christian Brothers and really understand the mission better,” Linda said. “It does take success in your career and life, in general, before you can say, ‘I’m ready to give back.’”

Together, through pride in their alma mater, they strengthen the momentum of La Salle University.