Lillian Lincoln Lambert

The season of college graduations for spring 2010 has ended. What an exciting time for graduates, family and friends!

            For me this year was very active, crammed into a few days from Thursday to Sunday. As a member of the Board of Visitors at Virginia Commonwealth University, I participated in its commencement exercises which were held on Saturday morning. Commencement was preceded by two days of intense board meetings.  However, a couple of tasty dinners were included where board members had the opportunity to meet award recipients.

            This year’s commencement speaker was quite a highlight. Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development gave graduates a challenge to remember the virtues of the human mind in this technological world.  Her Highness was instrumental in the establishment of Education City, the innovative campus in Doha, Qatar that hosts the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts along with a cluster of other universities involved in higher education and research. Commencement was followed by a reception luncheon, attended by prior and current board members, award recipients and many friends of the University.

            The university-wide, morning activity was followed by specific school exercises later in the afternoon. I took part in the School of Business event and smiled as graduates proudly strutted across the stage to receive their degrees. I had the opportunity to present degrees to my granddaughter who received her BA in business and my niece who received her Masters in Business.  Because of the full day of activities, I was too tired to attend the evening celebrations, but I forced myself.

            The next day had me on the road to Washington, DC for graduation of a niece from American University School of Law.  The parents of the graduate hosted a delicious dinner following graduation which was a great treat before heading back to Richmond.  Arriving home about 8 PM, I reflected on the events of the last few days and was joyful as I remembered the exuberance of the graduates as they looked forward to facing their new world of both challenges and opportunities.  I wish them well!

Recently, I was asked if I had some things in my home which had special meaning for me. As I thought about it, I realized there are two items which I particularly treasure. The first is a pump organ and the second a black and white painting.  

The organ was owned by my grandmother and it must be more than 100 years old. It’s the kind that is played by pumping two pedals with the feet. It is about six feet high, beautifully crafted with little shelves on each side just above the keyboard. It takes a lot of muscle and good coordination to pump and play simultaneously. As a teenager, I took music lessons on that organ, taught by a music teacher who was the caregiver for my grandmother.  We did not have a piano in our household. So to solve the issue of practicing my music lesson, my teacher gave me a cardboard keyboard. While it did not have the benefit of sound, I at least could learn the keyboard and the combination of notes. With a vivid imagination, I could hear the sound of those songs.  

I finally got my first piano after my oldest daughter started taking piano lesson around the age of five. The first was an older model which I upgraded to a baby grand a few years later. I even took some music lessons as an adult!  You see, I believe that you are never too old to learn something new.  When my daughter left home after college, I loaned the baby grand to my great niece. She is now off to college and I plan to retrieve my piano and play for my own enjoyment!

The second treasure, the black & white painting, is by John Nelson an artist from Maryland. It shows a number of black people picking cotton in a large cotton field. Projected to the front of the painting is a young black woman with a book under her arm and she is looking to the sky. The caption under the painting is “The only way out”.  My sentiments exactly!  There is no substitute for education and there are no shortcuts.