Meet a Colleague: Kelsey Goodwin Kelsey Goodwin is a writer in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs.
Kelsey Goodwin, writer – communications and public affairsQ. How long have you worked at W&L?
It will be 14 years in June–time flies when you’re having fun! I started my career here in Student Affairs and enjoyed 12 years of working with wonderful students and an amazing team of colleagues in the Student Affairs division before transitioning over to Communications and Public Affairs in 2022.
Q. What do you like most about working at W&L?
I have met many amazing people during my time here and had opportunities I couldn’t imagine having elsewhere to learn and grow professionally. It’s an extraordinary place.
Q. Where is your favorite location on the W&L campus?
If you haven’t been up to the gazebo out by the Outing Club barn, I recommend taking a stroll up there on a nice day.
Q. Where did you grow up?
I’m from Gate City, Virginia.
Q. What advice do you have for students?
My advice to students has always been that these four years are a time to discover who you are and what you’re passionate about by going outside your comfort zone. Take a class that genuinely excites your curiosity, go abroad if you can, consistently take the time to meet new people and constantly challenge your own thinking.
Q. What is the most adventurous thing that you have ever done?
Probably skydiving – a gift to myself for my 35th birthday. I recommend it!
Q. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?
Spending time with my family, ideally outside. A long daily walk with our dog is my number one stress-relief activity.
Q. If you could live anywhere, where would you build your dream home?
Somewhere overlooking the ocean.
Q. Who most inspires you?
My husband (who will probably kill me for putting him in this!) is my favorite person. He is hard-working, kind, and supportive – he has taught me so much about the kind of human I aspire to be. I feel very lucky that we now get to work together in the same department.
Q. What book are you reading now?
I just finished Marlet Haushofer’s “The Wall,” a vaguely sci-fi, dystopian novel.
Q. What music are you listening to these days?
My husband introduced me to the band Flyte recently and I recommend giving them a listen.
Q. What is your favorite film (movie) of all time?
I am going to have to say “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
Q. What is the website you visit most often and why?
Why, the Columns, of course!
Q. If they made a movie about your life, who would play you?
Hopefully Jack Black.
Q. Which historical figure do you most identify with and why?
I don’t know if I would compare myself to her, but I’ve always enjoyed researching the life of Queen Elizabeth I. We owe so much of our literary history to her support of the writers and dramatists of her era.
Q. If you could have coffee with one person, who would it be and why?
I would love to have coffee with Patti Smith. After reading her book “Just Kids” years ago, I was really surprised at how much it seemed we had in common – she frequently writes about balancing being a mother, writer, wife and artist. I like to think we would be friends.
Q. What is your desert island food?
Ice cream is something I just can’t live without.
Q. Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
During the pandemic, I became a trained volunteer crisis counselor for an organization called Crisis Text Line, which provides free, 24/7 text-based mental health support and crisis intervention.
Q. What is your secret talent?
I started making perfume a few years ago as gifts for friends, and plan to open an Etsy shop for them one day.
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