About Lynda and Mo
History of the Paddlin’ Pair
Lynda and Mo met at Bloomsburg State College (now Bloomsburg University) in Pennsylvania in the fall of 1979. That year Lynda served as Assistant Coach for the women’s basketball team, coaching the JV team that Mo played on as a freshman. Mo later joined the same social-service sorority as Lynda, Lambda Alpha Mu (now Phi Sigma Sigma). The two became friends and travel companions. Lynda and Mo have traveled together almost every summer for 25 years in the company of a variety of other friends. They have soared over Costa Rica’s Monteverde rainforest on zip lines, trodden across Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier, strolled beneath the Eiffel Tower on a warm Paris night, and much more. Along the way, they have also burned out the motor of a rental car in Denmark, dodged a parking ticket in Norway, engaged in a potato fight with a drunken Irishman, and been trapped behind locked gates at night on Mount Urgull in San Sebastian, Spain (none of which was their fault, they claim). The two are known to laugh and eat their way through almost any situation. Certain adventure—the good and the bad—on every trip keeps Lynda and Mo coming from opposite ends of the country each year to create new stories. This is the first time the two will use their travels (and travails) as a fundraising opportunity.
Lynda taught elementary and middle school students in Pennsylvania for 11 years before earning a Ph.D. in education at Indiana University–Bloomington. She is a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she specializes in mathematics education and educational equity. Although Lynda says she works far too many hours each week, she really likes her job. You can read more about Lynda’s professional life at www.unr.edu/educ/eds/profiles/wiest.html.
Lynda’s recreational interests are quite varied. She plays in a YMCA basketball league, hikes, kayaks, snowshoes, and downhill skis (a little). She also takes ballroom dance lessons, sings karaoke, and belongs to a writer’s group. Her main writing interest is nonfiction, although she dabbles in a few other types of writing. Lynda enjoys simple “home-spun” activities, such as tubing down the Truckee River, playing yard games and table games, going to movies, and spending time with friends. (Her family still resides in Pennsylvania, where she visits when she can.) She has recently become involved with a local animal welfare group called CAR (Citizens for Animal Rights). Last but not least, Lynda loves to spend time with her four cats!
Mo holds an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University. She returned to school to earn a degree in Diagnostic Imaging at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, where she currently serves as Instructor and Clinical Coordinator for the Cardiac Sonography program. For more information on Mo’s professional life, see www.jefferson.edu/jchp/di/mmc.cfm.
Mo likes to keep busy. Whether it is kayaking at the Jersey Shore, biking, golfing, playing basketball, or almost anything involving the great outdoors, Mo is always looking for an adventure. When she isn't out where the action is, she enjoys spending time with family, friends, and, of course, her kitties. The "fur balls" (meaning the cats, not the friends) are her little helpers, always by her side when working on a home project or on her lap when working at the computer. They enjoy listening to her play guitar and watching her draw or paint pictures, even if the pix are not of them. Mo also enjoys photography and has many photo documentaries of the adventures she and Lynda have had, which inspire what Mo likes to do most…laugh.