After a long day of travel from London to New York, Daniel Bramah, 23, got off his plane and checked his phone to see messages from his parents.
While his mother was initially stressed about how he would get from the airport to Lehigh due to a flight schedule change, she said she had found a solution – two mothers of Lehigh classmates would drive him back to school.
The two mothers, Dori Olson and Jennifer Allen-Nuzzi, helped Bramah travel from John F. Kennedy International Airport to the Lehigh campus.
Upon arrival at London Airport, Bramah had to take a COVID-19 test to comply with US travel guidelines that require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival in the country.
Bramah was told the results would take 40 minutes – plenty of time to catch his flight to Philadelphia.
However, it took 70 minutes for the results to come back, causing Bramah to miss his flight. To get to Lehigh, Bramah had to book a flight to New York, which disrupted his initial travel arrangements from the airport to Lehigh.
Daniel’s mother, Sara Taylor Bramah, posted on the UK’s Lehigh University Parents and Families Facebook page asking parents for recommendations on how Daniel could safely return to campus.
Olson and Allen-Nuzzi said that after reading the post they connected with the worried mother’s situation and wanted to help.
“It was just one mother who needed help and was worried about her child, and we are all mothers and thought, ‘Yeah, let’s find out how to get him here,'” said Allen-Nuzzi.
After Olson and Allen-Nuzzi discussed it in a private Facebook message between the three, they decided that Allen-Nuzzi would drive Daniel from the airport to Olson at Exit 33 of Interstate 78, where she would drive him back to Lehigh.
“The funny thing is, my mom didn’t even post that I asked someone to drive me,” Daniel said. “She just posted, ‘How do I get to New Jersey from JFK?’ That was the idea of the (other) mothers. ”
Because of Tropical Storm Henri on the east coast, Allen-Nuzzi said she endured strong winds, heavy rain and floods on the way to the airport.
However, she said the bad weather only encouraged her to help Daniel as the damage from the storm could have left him stranded for days.
“I just kept thinking, ‘What if it was my kid at this airport?'” Said Allen-Nuzzi.
The couple made it safely to Exit 33, where Olson helped Daniel complete his trip to Lehigh. Olson said she could say he was very grateful for the ride and eager to get back to school.
“When we got to Bethlehem, you could see his energy change,” said Olson. “He was excited.”
After a long day of travel, Olson finally dropped Daniel off at his brotherhood house, where he met up with friends again and they returned home.
As they reflected on their experiences, both Olson and Allen-Nuzzi said that their actions were something any parent would have done.
Living just about an hour from Lehigh, Olson says she often reaches out to parents of high school students who come from far away and assures them that she is available when their child is in need and they are unable are to reach them.
Allen-Nuzzi responded with a similar opinion, saying that this altruism makes it unique within the Lehigh community.
“It’s the community that we really have – parents who take care of all children,” said Allen-Nuzzi.
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