Never before have I found myself having more in common with someone 50 years my senior than when I met Sally Buckner.

An alumna from my very own alma mater, UNC-Greensboro, Buckner was honored by the university this past weekend with the 2008 Alumni Distinguished Service Award.

Buckner, a longtime Raleigh resident who moved to Cary’s Glenaire community about two years ago, graduated from Women’s College at the University of North Carolina, affectionately referred to as the WC by its graduates, in 1953. Men were not admitted to the school until 1963 and even today the female-to-male student ratio is 2 to 1.

The award is given to two alumni of the WC and UNCG each year “who have made significant contributions to the liberal arts ideal in service,” one of the university’s platforms.

After leaving the WC, Buckner received her Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill and taught literature and writing at Peace College for 28 years before her retirement in 1998.

Buckner has accomplished much in the 50 years since leaving the university. She has published two anthologies in addition to two books of her own poetry. “Strawberry Harvest” was published in 1986 and last year Buckner released a book called “Collateral Damage,” which she said focuses on war and violence.

Buckner, who will be 77 this year, continues to write and has had her thoughts and poetry published in the News & Observer as recently as January 21.

A self-described activist, Buckner has been vocal on issues such as peace in the Middle East, gun safety and the death penalty.

She attributed her passion for such issues to her mother and her WC education.

“When I was at WC it was very much a teaching college. ... We could speak up in class, we were encouraged to,” Buckner said. “We felt almost like missionaries going into the world. We were appointed and anointed. That was just the whole atmosphere. It was what you were expected to do.”

Buckner would be glad to know that spirit is alive and well at UNCG today, especially in Residential College, where I spent three years. The program was founded by Dr. Warren Ashby in 1970. Ashby was a mentor of Buckner’s when she was in school. “He was one of the most wonderful persons I ever knew,” she said.

Buckner said that as students at a women’s college, she and her peers at the WC had a distinct experience.

“As women we were never in competition with each other during the week, for the guys,” Buckner said. It was that camaraderie that led to some very special relationships.

“There’s something really special about a women’s college. There’s something special about the sisterhood that grows,” she said.

In receiving the Distinguished Service Award, Buckner joins a list of prominent alumni dating back to the class of 1900.

“So many distinguished persons have graduated from WC and UNCG,” Buckner said.

And in the opinion of a fellow alumna, Buckner is certainly one of them.