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Edvina Andrew Cahill was born in Vancouver and
at the age of 7, she and her mother moved to San
Francisco in 1923. Her father, Edward Cahill, had
died when she was very young and so her mother,
Jane Andrew Cahill, and she, both determined and
outspoken women, struggled together to make a
living. There were some very hard times. Throughout
it all Jane Cahill encouraged her daughter to
pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. "She had a
wonderful commitment to education," Edvina has
said, recalling her Scottish mother's advice that
"you can be what you want to be if you have the
gumption."
Edvina worked her way through high school and
college. She earned a BA in Elementary Education
from San Francisco State College in 1938 and was
awarded an elementary education credential in 1939
after she gained U.S. citizenship. Later, Ms.
Cahill was a graduate of San Francisco State's
first Masters program in Education.
At San Francisco State, Edvina Cahill was the
Junior Class President and Secretary of the
Advisory Council. She was a member of the Brush 'n
Palette, Scribes, Nyoda, and Junior Prom Committee
as well as a staff member of the Golden Gater; the
1938 SFSU yearbook lists her interests as music,
writing and tennis. She remembers working in Mary
Ward's office as a student, a job she obtained
through President Roosevelt's National Youth
Administration. She admired Mary Ward and still
remembers the excitement of working in her office.
Ms. Cahill devoted 35 years to the children and
schools of the San Francisco Unified School
District. Her first teaching job was as a
substitute teacher in the sixth grade at Kate
Kennedy elementary school. Edvina taught for a
short time at Glen Park elementary and then she
went on to Pacific Heights elementary school (now
Newcomer Alternative High School) where she taught
all the grades and in the process learned what she
calls "the vocabulary for every grade" -- the
communication skills to reach every pupil.
In 1950 she received an appointment as vice
principal for Raphael Weill elementary school (now
Rosa Parks). She then went on to John Muir where
she was principal from 1955-66. It was her
experience at these two schools that formed Ms.
Cahill's fondest memories. She enjoyed and
appreciated the pupils at these schools more than
any others in her teaching career.
After some health problems, Edvina eventually
transferred to the Marina District where she was
principal of Winfield Scott and Yerba Buena
elementary schools. Her last appointment was at
Bryant elementary (which she also loved) in the
Mission where she served as principal until her
early retirement in 1975.
Because of her upbringing, Edvina has a special
understanding of the difficulties of working
students and students from single parent families.
She has also experienced the hardships and
discrimination faced by single, professional women.
Her generous bequest to San Francisco State
University will endow The Jane Andrew Cahill and
Edvina Andrew Cahill Scholarship Fund. The purpose
of the Cahill scholarship is to assist San
Francisco State undergraduates as they study to
become elementary school teachers. Preference will
be given to women and students from single-parent
families. The annual awards will be equal to one
year's tuition and based on financial need. It will
be possible for Cahill scholarship recipients to
receive the annual awards each year of their
undergraduate studies (up to five consecutive
years).
A portion of Ms. Cahill's bequest will be used to endow a fund for the College of Education's Learning Resources and Media Laboratory. Income from the fund will be used for acquisitions and
teaching materials. In recognition of her
magnificent generosity and her distinguished career
in education, it will be renamed The Jane Andrew
Cahill and Edvina Andrew Cahill Learning Resources
and Media Laboratory.
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