Lesley Williams

Where were you born?

Chicago

What College did you go to?

Grinnell College in Iowa, University of Michigan, and the Sorbonne in Paris

What is your favorite thing about the TRiO program?

It’s clear all the students are extremely motivated and want to learn. I love the feeling of mutual support and the culture of success and participation. TRIO pushes everyone to get involved and try new things, both inside the classroom and out.

What are some of your favorite things to do when not helping our TRiO student?

Well, I’m a librarian, so reading, not surprisingly! I give myself the “Never in a Million Years” challenge every year of reading a genre or author I would never normally pick up. I’m also trying to read books from as many different countries as possible.

Other fave activities: swing dancing, movies, and theatre.

Do you have any books (audio or hardcover) or podcasts you would recommend our students to check out?

I love The Filmspotting podcast; very insightful about different movie genres. Also Treyf which is a “debatably Jewish” podcast on various lefty, queer cultural and political themes.

Too many books to name, but you can check out my Goodreads page: www.goodreads.com/profile/ReallyCrankyLibrarian

If you could visit one place in the world, where would it be?

I got to spend a day in Istanbul last year en route to Palestine, and I would love to go back and really explore! Would also love to visit Prague.

If you could have one Superpower, what would it be?

I would love to have the Pensieve from Harry Potter so I could revisit favorite memories, especially with loved ones who have passed on. Probably wouldn’t be good for me though since I wouldn’t spend enough time in the present!

What is your favorite food?

The more fat and calories the better.

What advice do you have to share with our students?

You can’t grow and succeed without taking chances, and taking chances means you will sometimes fail. One of the hardest lessons is accepting failure as part of the growth process, but then learning from it. Also never say “I’m not good at (math, reading, sports, etc.) Very few people are naturally good at something the first time. Think instead, “This is challenging, but I just need more practice”, or “I haven’t tried this before but it’s interesting so I’m going to keep at it til I get better!”