What is your name and what do you do at UE?
Anthony Guest-Scott. I am the Academic Coordinator at the Student Academic Center (SAC).
What would you do (for a career) if you weren’t doing this?
Oil Baron, or some sort of Tycoon (non-specific). No, really, for a career I would have to say either 1) something else related to making other people’s lives easier, more joyful, and more interesting, or, at the very least, helping to reduce their suffering; or 2) continuing what I started at 13—making music and teaching how to create it, most likely with a guitar in my hands.
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Magic.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
The things that mean the most to me don’t really feel like “accomplishments,” in the sense that they are outcomes I’ve achieved through skill, effort, and/or planning. Rather, those things seem more like wanderings and discoveries. I strolled (more like stumbled) into all the most important relationships and events in my life—my family, my wife Rebecca and kids Owen and Penny, my friends—and the many different kinds of work I’ve done, found them wonderful places to be, and promptly set up shop.
What do you do in your spare time?
I parent, read, find whatever time I can to experience music, and learn.
What is a favorite book, movie, and/or tv show that had an impact on you?
I’ll give you just three. For the head, I offer you Antonio Damasio’s The Feeling of What Happens. For the heart, Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things. For everything, Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself. I go back to all of these over and over again. Bring a box of tissues (seriously).
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?
Andalucía in southern Spain, often held to be the birthplace of the 6-string guitar and the origin point for Flamenco.
What are some of your favorite things about working in UE?
The room to create, to be of service to others in need, and to do so in the company of people who are warm, wise, and from whom I have much to learn.
Bonus interview: Luna the Pug
What is your name and what are your daily tasks?
Luna Guest-Scott is my name. My daily tasks are substantial and important, and include:
- Bending myself in half as I wag my whole body to greet my humans in the morning
- Closely supervising Mom’s morning coffee
- Skillfully feigning indifference as my breakfast is placed near me until everyone has left the room
- The Pillow Game (where I scoot behind all the pillows on the couch and scrabble/flail around until all pillows have landed on the floor)
- Ringing the bell to go out by hitting it with my paw (or to let my humans know one of the other dogs would like to go out)
- Rooting through my toy bin to find the preferred coveted object (this usually requires first emptying the entire contents on the floor); I ask for this assistance with a special whine that always means “help”
- Chasing Rosie the cat upon sight
- ABT (“Always Be Touching” someone else in the house)
If you could be anywhere, doing anything, what would you be doing now?
Going out or coming in—stillness is overrated.
Where is your favorite place to nap?
I can’t choose just one—it’s either a) on the deck, spreading out to soak up the rays of a sunny afternoon; or b) snuggling my brother Sam by cramming my body into our small dog bed beside him.
What advice do you have for students adjusting to college in their first year?
When you’re learning a new skill—like, say, ringing a bell with your paw, here’s my two cents: Don’t just read about the bell and the sound it makes. You’ve got to go find a bell and hit that thing and hear it for yourself. Then, most of the time, a door opens, and a bigger place lies just beyond.
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