McConville’s mother worked three jobs and went to Wright State University. Her grandfather, John McConville, was an anthropologist and was trained in archeology. He moved to Yellow Springs initially after accepting a job at Antioch College. Meanwhile McConville met older friends who were also international students.
“My friends inspired my curiosity about the world,” McConville said.
At 15, McConville signed up for a foreign exchange program with her mother’s blessing and spent a year in the Czech Republic. She calls the year she spent abroad a life changing experience.
“I didn’t know anyone or the language when I arrived,” McConville said. “I chose the Czech Republic because it had classical music traditions, and I love classical music.”
Looking back, she said she is amazed at how supportive her family was at the time.
“I know they were scared and so was I,” McConville said. “This was before Internet and we could only call each other long distance, which was a big deal.”
In the Czech Republic, McConville learned that there are always ways to communicate with others, even with a language barrier. She travelled with a large group of students her age from many different nations.
“I remember the absolute joy of making new friends from all over the world,” she said.
McConville learned to speak Czech and all about the culture. She lived with two different host families and in both a small rural village and a larger industrial city. And rather than finding herself missing home, she said the year went by quickly and she wanted to stay another year.
“It was disjointing to come back home to Yellow Springs,” McConville said. “And I was changed forever.”
When she returned, McConville signed up for visual arts and photography classes. And she was determined to leave Yellow Springs after high school.
She graduated from Yellow Springs High School in 1998 and had saved enough money to move to New York City and attend the Parsons School of Design the following year.
“I wanted to do something creative with an income attached to it,” McConville said. “Seeing my mom work so hard, It never occurred to me that I would do anything but work.”
McConville transferred to Parsons in Paris, France where she learned how to paint on an easel on the streets of Paris and went to museums to study art. She finished her junior and senior years back at Parsons in New York city, while waitressing on the side and working in museums.
On Sept. 11, 2001, McConville was in class at Parsons when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center Twin Towers.
“We went to the roof of the building and watched,” McConville said. “None of us knew what to do except try to get home.”
With her school, apartment and jobs in or near the impact zone, McConville’s life was turned upside down.
“I remember taking the train back to New York after visiting family and looking at the window with lower Manhattan still smoldering against a sunset.”
Determined to finish her degree, McConville stayed until the following year, but moved back to Yellow Springs after graduation. She was hired at the Dayton Art Institute as the assistant for the deputy director for collections and public programs.
“I loved working at the Art Institute,” McConville said. “But I realized that I couldn’t get further in the museum without having an advanced degree.”
She put that on hold and worked at the Rosewood Art Center running the children’s programs, all the while building her portfolio for graduate school. She decided on the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and moved in 2005.
“I loved being part of the Penn campus,” McConville said. “I decided I didn’t want to teach, and I found joy in organizing exhibitions.”
She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2007 and was hired at the Tyler School of Art in their exhibitions and public programs department. She loved doing work in the community and helping smaller arts organizations collaborate.
“This was the job that made me realize how much I love working with community,” McConville said. “Then the cultural arts superintendent at Rosewood decided to retire and asked me to apply for the job.”
In August of 2011, McConville returned to Ohio and accepted the position of cultural arts manager at Rosewood Arts Center in Kettering.
Throughout her many years at Rosewood, McConville has led her team through a major renovation of their building — a former elementary school — while significantly growing the program.
“This is a place anyone in the community can come to be part of something special,” McConville said. “I’m now in a community I love where I get to work with anyone who is curious or passionate about art.”
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