On former Elon University student Aidan Steinbach’s desk rests a framed photograph of his mother, Michelle Mayer, alongside a note from his peer written on his first day as an Elon University leadership fellow. It reads: “You make her proud.”

Steinbach ’23, now 25 years old, lost his mother to scleroderma, a terminal autoimmune disease, when he was just 7 years old. Before her death, Mayer, a research assistant professor in health policy and management at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, prepared birthday gifts for him to open every birthday until he turned 18.

“Each gift was some lesson that I would carry with me for the rest of my life," Steinbach said. "She left me ties. People judge you first on your appearance, and second on who you are. She left me Hardy Boys books to stay curious, and a compass because life is confusing and hard.”

He said each lesson helped him stay connected with his mother. To carry that legacy forward, Steinbach pledged a $2 million estate gift to Elon University to fund a scholarship for students who have lost a parent, with a preference for entrepreneurship majors.

“I got to go to school debt-free because my mom died. Her life insurance paid for my education," Steinbach said. "From a very young age, it was abundantly clear to me that objectively good things can and should come from objectively bad things. The hope is that when I die, something objectively good will happen. People's education will be supported."

During his time at Elon, Steinbach said he felt isolated as he managed grief while surrounded by his peers who, at times, he felt, didn’t fully understand what he was going through.

"My perception that the world was this beautiful, magnificent, incredible place was shattered when I was a child, and I had to rebuild that for the rest of my life," Steinbach said. "In college, people are worried about, is their situationship texting them back? Are you in this sorority or this frat or this paper is hard? And I'm like, ‘People are dying, dude.’ We had totally different problems."

He said he found stability through close campus bonds, including his former roommate Kevin Coelho, who met him through the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2022. 

“He is an incredibly positive and optimistic guy. He will always give you the silver lining, the positive spin," Coelho said. "It's just his motor. He's always pushing forward, and that spills out into the people's lives around him. He inspires them. He inspires a better work ethic."

Steinbach said that the scholarship is meant to equip grieving students with that same drive to push forward.

"It's not a safety net. It is a tool," Steinbach said. "You are stronger than almost anyone else in the world. You are going through one of the most painful and brutal things you can go through at an age when you should not. It is not fair. It's not fun. It sucks.”

Rather than letting that pain define him, Steinbach views the loss as an enduring reminder of his capacity to persevere.