Linda A. Day and David Scardino

The Linda Day Endowed Student Award was created in memory of Linda by her husband, David Scardino, in 2011. Linda held a BA from Colby College and an MFA from the Pratt Institute. Ms. Day was a member of the School of Art faculty at CSULB. Mr. Scardino would like recipients of Linda’s Student Award to receive the following note:

Congratulations on receiving your award! Since this scholarship has been funded in perpetuity, as time goes on, there will be fewer and fewer people at school who knew Linda. Because of that, as her widower, I wanted to let you and future recipients know who Linda was and why establishing this scholarship was so very important to the many friends, colleagues and family members whose funding made it possible. First off, you should seek out everything you can on Linda’s life and work as she was an exceptional artist. Her artist statement and manifesto not only reveal her sensibility but are truly inspiring. My point in this brief note is to let you know how much she loved teaching and how important it was to her as an artist. I was always blown away when Linda and I would be out and someone would approach, remind her they were once her student and say how that experience changed their life. After about the third or fourth time I experienced this, I told her it had to be exceptionally gratifying. She said it was, but then whispered, “The dirty little secret is that I get far more from them than they get from me.” And she meant it, often stating that her own work as an artist took a quantum leap once she began teaching. Linda never undertook any task, professional or personal, without committing to it totally. It was, I think, what allowed her to say, after she received her final, terminal prognosis, that other than not having more time, she had absolutely no regrets, that everything she ever truly wanted to do, she did. That, for me, is the overarching lesson of her life and spirit. It’s also a lesson I hope you apply as you carry your career forward. Finally, know that as you go forward, Linda is with you in spirit, pushing, prodding and encouraging you to get the most from your talent and take it as far as you can. Also know that helping you on this road via the scholarship would have made her immensely proud and happy. -David Scardino