Dr. Virginia "Ginny" Stone Johnson '70 and Linwood Johnson, Sr.

"Being educators, we don't have a million dollars to give the university. A charitable gift annuity allows us to have a long term effect on students' lives."

I grew up in Kernersville and started college at Meredith. I transferred to UNCG my sophomore year, which allowed me to pursue my entire degree program in home economics education at a single institution. It was a much larger school, but there was no loss in value. I received an excellent education here.

I got a job straight out of college based on the quality of my UNCG degree. I taught in eastern North Carolina for several years before pursuing two master's degrees and a doctorate. I worked as a school administrator for years, as did my husband, Linwood. We are both firm believers in lifetime learning, and even after I made the leap from teacher to principal, I learned to keep going back to the classroom. I liked being able to see both the broad picture and the lives of individual students.

I retired in 2000 and am happy in retirement. I have remained involved with UNCG, especially through the Council for the Advancement of Graduate Education (CAGE). Linwood and I designated our planned gift, a charitable gift annuity, to support a graduate award in the School of Health and Human Sciences, and hope that this fund will encourage others to become lifelong learners as well.