Edith Leiby
UH Community Colleges
Having her world, her way
Edith Leiby is currently a student at Kapi’olani Community College. But she is not a typical student. Edith is 83 years old and approaches life with gusto. Her current passion is painting and she regrets that her appreciation for art started so late in her life.
Her whole life has been a palette of color. During WWII, Edith quit her job as an office worker to pursue a more lucrative one: a Yellow Taxi driver. Thus, she was able to continue her flying career, get her pilot’s license, and join the WAFs. However, she never made it to the WAFs as the program was discontinued when the war ended. So, she enrolled at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and majored in physical education, health, and recreation. After teaching high school for a couple of years, she went on to graduate school where she studied choreography and dance with the likes of John Cage, the avant garde musician, and Merce Cunningham, the modern dance master.
Since first discovering the community colleges in the late 1990s, she has taken advantage of course offerings at UH Manoa and Kapi’olani and Leeward Community Colleges. She has traveled to Paris on a study abroad program, she has taken drawing and painting classes, and now she is studying French literature and film. New adventures continue to open up for her!
Edith is an example of what we call the lifelong student. Edith gushes when describing the dedicated art instructors she has met and the many different techniques each instructor has taught her. Professor Barbara Saromines-Ganne at Leeward Community College describes Edith as enthusiastic, disciplined, and a delight to be with. David Behlke, Koa Gallery Director at Kapi’olani Community Colleges feels that Edith radiates joy and positive energy in and out of classes. Edith praises the work of her fellow students and applauds the distance each student progresses in a short semester.
It does not matter whether she is on a road less traveled or on a road of a different choice. What matters is that Edith Leiby is enjoying learning new things and that she welcomes others to share this path and be companions on her journey.