Glandina “Dina” Morris Lyga is a proud alumna of the University of Hartford. She received her bachelor of science in business administration with concentrations in management and marketing from the Barney School of Business in 2004. During her last year, she was the sole recipient of the William G. McGowan Scholarship which supports business students and next-generation leaders. In 2004, she joined the national nonprofit, Boundless Playgrounds, as a communications manager, and later, acting director of communications, where she oversaw development of all marketing publications while working with national media outlets to promote visibility and support fundraising strategies.
In 2010, she embarked on a new career path in higher education, serving as an admissions counselor, and later, the assistant director of Cambridge College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In this role, she served a diverse population of adult students through recruitment, support services, community partnership development, and event planning.
In 2017, she received her masters of education in counseling psychology with a focus in trauma studies from Cambridge College to better equip herself to provide counseling and mentoring services to veterans and others at the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs. Each day, she looks forward to serving others and giving back to the University of Hartford which greatly influenced her career path.
In her community, Dina serves on the Board of Directors for Achieve Hartford. She is also a member of the Connecticut Women’s Council and the University of Hartford’s community representative for the American Council on Education Women’s Network (Connecticut Chapter).
Dina shares, “It was important for me to have other determined and strong women as mentors. They encouraged me to never stop learning, never stop trying, never stop laughing, and most importantly, never stop serving others. Their examples and words of wisdom motivate me every day. My hope is that I can continue this tradition of service as I support the remarkable women we serve at The Women’s Advancement Initiative and celebrate our sisterhood across time by honoring the Hartford College for Women legacy.”