Lulu Williamson
What did you want to be when you grew up?
There were times when I wanted to be an architect. Times when I wanted to be a nurse. Times when I wanted to be a psychologist. Times when I wanted to be an artist. I never had one particular thing that I always wanted to be.
What year in school was your favorite and why?
I was a non-traditional student. I started my undergrad degree when I was in the military. I have a bachelor's, two master's and a Ph.D. Only one of those degrees was I ever on campus on a regular basis. I was more of a commuting student or an online or just non-traditional. I did spend one year in Alaska for part of my Ph.D. That was fun, just being in a place and working with everyone face-to-face.
What is something you learned and never forgot?
One thing I think is important because I’ve been working in the online space for so long is that you really need to be careful about what you write because tone is everything. Sometimes tone doesn’t come across in your writing. In the beginning of my online career, I did a lot of writing it out and then deleting it.
So communication is always key and to be really careful with that. I’ve gotten better with that as I’ve gotten older. I tell my daughter who’s 15 about that all the time. Once you say it, it’s really hard to take it back whether it’s face-to-face or in writing.
If you could go back to school, what would you study?
If I went back to school now, I would probably study to be a naturopathic doctor, which is quite a change from what I’m doing now.
What's one class you wish you had taken in college?
I come from a humanities background so I took a range of courses. That's why I have two master's degrees because I didn’t just want to study one thing. I probably would have taken more classes in art like applied art, visual art and painting. I paint now, but I would have taken more formal training courses in art.
What's a dream you have?
I’m the person who if I want to do something, I just go off and do it and don’t really think about it too much.
Dreams also are attached to price tags, honestly. So if I had a massive amount of money, I would probably go buy a castle in Scotland and have masquerade balls there on a regular basis.
What did you learn from 2020?
I’ve been working remotely for a super long time. Professionally, I learned that people don't know how to work remotely. It was good for me because a lot of people learned how to come into my world. I think it was a good time for others to be able to interact with me, which sounds strange, but it’s true.
I also learned that there is a lot of ugliness out there, but there is also a lot of community. [I learned] to try to concentrate. To turn the TV off and not get too bombarded with the negative.
Just for Fun
A book you've always wanted to read: War and Peace
Most adventurous food you've tasted: Nacho cheese flavored crickets
Favorite band in college: Charlie Mingus
Dogs or cats? Cats. I have both: Rosie the dog and Toby the cat