by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
It takes imagination to make a big career leap and strategy and versatility to land on solid ground. That’s the very stuff Dickinsonians are made of. So in an era when more people are switching careers than ever and, in some cases, doing so several times we asked alumni to show us how it’s done and offer their career-reinvention stories and advice.
Lynn Waldo Smiledge ’75: Keep Learning
Early in her career, Smiledge pivoted within her industry. Then, at age 50, she crafted an entirely different career.
Education: Art history and biology major. B.S., medical arts, University of Toronto.
Career spans from illustration to communications to historic preservation
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Early in her career, Lynn Waldo Smiledge ’75 made a substantial professional shift. Twenty-five years later, she was ready for an even bigger leap one that would transform her longtime hobby into an entirely new career. Now, she tells the histories of buildings their architecture, their uses and significance and the sometimes colorful tales about the people who lived or worked there.
Communicating visually
The daughter of a physician, Smiledge majored in art history and biology at Dickinson. After an independent study with her art-history advisor, Dennis Aikin, she made plans to pursue medical illustration and went on to earn a degree in medical arts at the University of Toronto a program she equates to the first year of medical school.