{"id":980,"date":"2021-12-09T21:33:02","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T02:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/?p=980"},"modified":"2021-12-09T21:35:37","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T02:35:37","slug":"meet-a-usac-member-tara-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/meet-a-usac-member-tara-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet a USAC Member: Tara Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TaraWhat department do you work in and what is your job title?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I work in the Office of Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) as the Chief of Staff.<\/p>\n

How long have you been a Vanderbilt employee?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been at Vanderbilt for 14 years.<\/p>\n

What has been your career journey to led you to where you are today?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started my career at VU as an AAI in African American and Diaspora Studies. I then moved to a Program Coordinator in the Office of the Chancellor (Nick Zeppos) and from there to EDI. I have held 3 roles in this office: Executive Assistant, Administrative Manager and my current role, Chief of Staff.<\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most about Vanderbilt?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vanderbilt has many things that I enjoy. The benefits are very good; specifically the tuition benefit. I obtained 2 degrees (bachelor’s and a master’s) while employed at VU. I have also put 3 children through college. I lost my son tragically in 2018 and the life insurance benefit was a blessing I never knew I would need. And of course, it\u2019s the people for me. I love our Beloved Community!<\/p>\n

What is the best perk you have ever had at a job?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The flexibility to adjust my hours and location of work in order to manage work\/life balance well.<\/p>\n

Do you feel like you have a good work\/life balance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently, I feel a little out of balance, but am working to recalibrate so that I do have a good work\/life balance.<\/p>\n

What is one important skill every person should have?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perseverance! We are created to make it; to survive. You can do it! Just keep going!<\/p>\n

What do you enjoy doing to relieve stress?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love spending time with my grandson, Santana. He is my stress reliever!!!<\/p>\n

What is the greatest bit of advice a parent or mentor gave you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remain Humble<\/p>\n

Are you more productive at night or in the morning?\u00a0 Do you think it is possible to change and get used to a new schedule?
\n<\/strong>I am way more productive at night.\u00a0 No, it is why I dislike strongly daylight savings time. Let\u2019s set it one way and keep it that way!<\/p>\n

What did you want to be when you grew up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have no clue!<\/p>\n

What is your favorite type of music?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christian\/Gospel for sure but if it has a beat I\u2019m there. I likely won\u2019t know the lyrics, though.<\/p>\n

If you could visit any country with no budget, where would you visit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Israel<\/p>\n

What has been your favorite vacation you have ever been on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love Tampa!<\/p>\n

What are you most proud of in your life so far? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My family!<\/p>\n

What is your favorite outdoor activity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sitting at the Beach<\/p>\n

Name two things you consider yourself to be good at?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Relationship building and pastoring<\/p>\n

What is something on your bucket list? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hawaii<\/p>\n

What is a skill or talent you would like to learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wish I were a singer!<\/p>\n

If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Can I save it? I would definitely save it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What department do you work in and what is your job title? I work in the Office of Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) as the Chief of Staff. How long have you been a Vanderbilt employee? I have been at Vanderbilt for 14 years. What has been your career journey to led…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9295,"featured_media":986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meet-a-usac-member"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9295"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=980"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980\/revisions\/987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/usac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}