Meet a Colleague: Patti Colliton Patti Colliton serves as the manager of the fitness center.
Patti Colliton, fitness center managerQ. How long have you worked at W&L?
I’ve been at W&L for just over 30 years in various capacities.
Q. What do you like most about working at W&L?
I’ve had different roles with different populations on campus – it’s truly a community with all the ups and downs that come with people being together. However, I would say that the thing I like most is our commitment to the students. A close second is being able to interact with all populations in the fitness center – undergraduates, law students and employees!
Q. Where is your favorite location on the W&L campus?
I enjoy the back campus trails!
Q. Where did you grow up?
I was born in Maryland, lived a few years in North Dakota, but essentially grew up in Newport, Rhode Island.
Q. What advice do you have for students (or parents)?
• For students – be open to all opportunities and allow yourself to veer from the path you imagined. It’s okay to not know what you want to do when you graduate.
• For parents – teach your kids basic life skills. Exampled are how to pump gas, do laundry, manage money and talk to people in person!
Q. What is the most adventurous thing that you have ever done?
I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane with my youngest son for his 18th birthday!
Q. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?
I enjoy hiking with my dog, trying to grow things in my garden and virtually anything outside!
Q. If you could live anywhere, where would you build your dream home?
I haven’t found it yet, but I would choose somewhere with access to the woods, mountains and ocean. If I can’t find that, any old manor house in France will do.
Q. Who most inspires you?
At the moment, it’s my cousin Sarah (shameless plug here – look up Princess Sarah Culberson!) She is putting so much good into the world right now and I’m in awe of her positivity!
Q. What book are you reading now?
I wish I remembered the title – I grab interesting covers at the library (because I usually forget my glasses) and hope they’re good! Currently, it’s a novel with a detective searching for her missing addict sister. Wish I had more time to read!!
Q. What music are you listening to these days?
Whatever my student workers play in the fitness center! At home, it’s any chill Indy rock – old and new
Q. Your favorite film (movie) of all time?
“The Sound of Music” – Captain Georg Von Trapp was my first crush!
Q. What is the website you visit most often and why?
I have a confession – Candy Crush. It’s a thing! Also Instagram – it’s how I keep up with my kids!
Q. If you could have coffee with one person, who would it be?
My grandmother. She died while I was pregnant with my oldest child. I would like to know who she was as a woman, wife and mother – not just my Gram.
Q. What is your desert island food?
Potato chips, ice cream and a good IPA.
Q. Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
I did a deep dive into ancestry during Covid and found lines that go back to Colonial Virginia. I also learned that I’m a VERY distant third cousin to George Washington!
Q. What is your secret talent?
Well, this is not so secret, but I I love to sew. I’ve sewn all the tridents on the captain’s letter sweaters for the last 25 years.
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