Life Membership
Post #289
January 18, 2020
Life Membership – #15,576
Today, I am thankful for the academic institutions that molded and crafted me into the professional woman I am.
I’ve never taken HIGHER EDUCATION for granted.
My twelve years of higher education at West Virginia University and Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania provided a life-long love of learning.
When I was in the MFA program at West Virginia University, from 1989 – 1991, I made a vow to myself that I would never forget what this university gave to me. Education is not something we BUY – it is not FREE – and it is not something we can TAKE for granted. Education is worth every sacrifice that it requires us to make.
I am so happy to say that over the years I have been a financial supporter in my small way, of both institutions where I received my 3 advanced degrees in fine art and English.
‘I left WVU in the spring of 1991. I left with a grateful heart. I was well prepared for the life I wanted to have in the fine arts and humanities.
When I left WVU in 1991, I gave myself a graduation gift that kept on giving for many years.
The GIFT
I took my first trip to Europe to study in a month-long program. It was a dream-come-true for me to be in Austria for an entire month of drawing and writing. I created an entire collection of art works that were exhibited in several galleries and museums when I returned home.
Just five years after that, I stepped onto the lecture stage at Geneva College as a professor of fine arts and humanities.
I created a summer course for students and took them to Austria in 1998. I took students to several European countries each year for a month-long course in drawing and writing, until my retirement from the college. On the main campus, I participated in many travel-study courses in Arizona and Puerto Rico as part of an interdisciplinary teaching team. These experiences are life changing for the students and for the professors as well.
My first educational trip to Europe prepared me for a life of teaching in Austria every summer after I became a professor at Geneva College in 1996.
This year I am now a LIFE MEMBER of the West Virginia University Alumni Association. This goal was set back in 1991 because I want to give back to the institution that gave me a new and beautiful life.
On behalf of the approximately 203,000 alumni worldwide, we sincerely thank you for becoming our 15,576 life member and joining the ranks of our most loyal alums…Your name has been entered in the permanent records of the Association as a life member, and you will receive all publications and privileges of full membership from this date on.
Signed by Sean M. Frisbee,’89,
President and Chief Executive Officer,
WVU Vice President of Alumni Relations.
_____________________
Lynda McKinney Lambert is an author/artist who lives in the Village of Wurtemburg, in Western Pennsylvania.
She is a published author, visual artist, public speaker, educator, retired professor of fine arts and humanities (Geneva College, Beaver Falls PA) – wife, mother, and grandmother. Lynda loves fine art, museums & art galleries, modern poetry, nature, history, travel, dreams, animals, and English literature.
She writes spare poems and thoughtful personal essays that appear in her published books, anthologies, and literary magazines.
Listen to Melissa Cotter read, “Star Signs: A Libra Sort of Day,” (Wordgathering Literary Magazine, December Issue #40). This is the opening poem in Lynda’s new book, Star Signs: New and Selected Poems, DLD Books, 2017. See poem text – click here!
In Lynda’s art life, she creates intricate mixed-media fiber art for personal adornment (talismans) and wall works for exhibitions nationally. She does encrusted bead working and bead embroidery with the aid of her Acrobat CCTV (Closed Circuit T V) and a DaVinci Pro Electronic Magnifierin her art and writing studios. This technology enables her to see her work in progress.
Lynda has profound sight loss, since 2007. This opened the door for her to write and make art full time. She retired from teaching in the fall of 2008, but continues to show her art in juried exhibitions internationally. She has exhibited in over 400 gallery and museum shows and has won over a hundred awards for her art works.
Lynda’s books, written following her sight loss, are sold world-wide through Amazon and all retail book sellers. The books are published in paperback, hardback, Audible, BARD, e-book, and Kindle.
River Road Studio on Face Book
Copyright 2020. Lynda McKinney Lambert. All rights reserved.
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