The first job Edwards held was at the very first Burger King in Bakersfield, noting the “brightly-colored uniform and a large matching hat.”
“I somehow managed to convince the interviewer a family and bills to pay was reason enough to hire me in spite of my weeks-old Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. And besides, I knew how to correctly count change,” said Edwards.
When she and her husband, who also graduated with his masters degree in counseling, relocated to Fresno, her husband began working in financial aid at Fresno State.
“Having missed the hiring season for teachers, I accepted a position as a claims adjuster for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. A year later, I returned to Bakersfield as an unmarried single mother. That fall, I began my teaching career in a bilingual first grade classroom in Wasco,” explained Edwards.
She taught for three-and-a-half years before living in Oakland and Berkeley.
“I worked for two different non-profit organizations in San Francisco and, for the first time, found myself traveling to other states where there were grassroots organizations who received seed grants to fund the non-political activities in their communities,” Edwards added.
When Edwards’ aunt died in 1983, she felt it was her responsibility to move back to Bakersfield to help care for her uncle, since they’d had no children of their own. During that time, she worked part-time and completed her clear teaching elementary credential.
“In the summer of 1985, I received a telephone call from Lee Adams who was the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) director. He told me about a brand-new initiative launched by the California University System called Summer Bridge,” explained Edwards.
She was asked to go to work and call potential incoming freshmen, first to attend college from underrepresented backgrounds and talk to them and their parents about attending the four-week residential orientation to college and academic boot camp to improve the attendance in the fall.
It was also a chance introduce students to the support serviced available to help attenuate some of the barriers of receiving a college degree.
“After receiving permission from the principal and the district administration to vacate the third-grade classroom assignment I held, I applied for and accepted a position in student affairs,” said Edwards.
Edwards began working in the Academic Advancement Center on her birthday in September 1985, guiding subject peer tutors, EOP peer counselors, math and English specialists and related professionals engaged in the activities to assist students in completing the area of study they’d chosen.
Every summer thereafter, the staff greeted a new cohort of 125 underrepresented college students for the four-week Summer Bridge Program.
“At the end of 1998-99 academic year, I made the difficult but thoughtful decision to resign the position I had held for 14 years. This decision necessitated a professional change of course,” said Edwards.
“I had long embraced the support extended to me by the School of Education. During my tenure at CSUB, I was periodically assigned one or two student teachers to observe and provide feedback and I was happy to do so. The provision of such opportunities was in preparation for me to pursue a doctorate in education and hopefully join the faculty at CSUB as a teacher of teachers,” added Edwards.
Throughout her time working at CSUB, Edwards made an impact on the students and colleagues she worked with, including then student Emile “EJ” Callahan, who is now the director of the Student Union and Organizational Governance.
“I just remember Lynece making the Academic Advancement Center a family environment. Everyone felt welcomed and we she made sure we knew that the work we were doing would have a lasting impact on the students,” said EJ Callahan.
Callahan added that he viewed Edwards as a role model and mentor for of the EOP students.
“She was very task-oriented and being on her staff was a privilege that not too many were able to enjoy,” said Callahan. “Lynece showed me love and believed in me. Her love gave me the confidence that I needed as a first-generation college student to continue to press forward at the university.”
After the decision to resign, Edwards put her teaching credential to use, updating her resume and letters of recommendation. She applied to the Vallejo City Unified School District and was offered a fifth-grade assignment, where she worked until her retirement in June 2016.