Amy Watson

I am a gardener as well as a manager working for The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. My gardening focuses on food production, so I grow anything my little family likes to eat and can preserve to sustain us for as long as possible. I try to be thrifty because I am the only source of income for the family.  I want the grocery bill to stretch as far as possible, so I grow fruits and vegetables, and am starting to look into chicken coop options for some urban hens.

Professionally I am a supervisor/manager/mentor, and I have a deep interest in how people pursue their careers, what gives them satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work, and the choices we all do and can make in our professional lives.  I'm also mentoring staff and faculty through a culture transformation process at the University.

Prior to my current passions and activities, I studied theology and worked for bookstores. I was brought up in both the Southern Baptist and American Baptist denominations, and I spent a good bit of time hanging out with "reformed"/presbyterian church-folk. I have participated in Nanowrimo and "won" often enough to become convinced that motivation is not my biggest problem in fiction writing, and I get more joy out of other activities.

I completed my Master's Degree at Princeton Theological Seminary, a non-thesis program in theology. I focused my studies as much as I could on counseling and theology--particularly liberal theology and the conflict and touchpoints between religion and science. As an undergraduate, I studied organizational and speech communication at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. My undergrad studies focused on public speaking, business communication, management, and organizations. I have worked for various non-profits and corporations. For three years, I worked at Borders Books and Music in Princeton: my first management job and my most spectacular failure. I got fired and learned a great deal about good mentors and bad role models and how to figure out which of the two I'm turning into. I helped build a volunteer training program for HOPE (an AIDS ministry in Philadelphia), picked up wicked typing skills as a staff member in Tony Campolo's office in at Eastern University, and flexed international muscles as a missionary-in-training in both Germany and Brazil. I have worked as a chaplain at the Methodist Medical Center of Illinois and Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. However, I am not currently associated with the church.

Where I grew up

upstate New York and central North Carolina

Places I've lived

Irving, Texas (birth); upstate NY; central NC; southeast PA; central NJ; central IL; central OH

Companies I've worked for

Ohio Dominican University, Columbus; Avalon Consulting, Columbus; NJEA, Trenton; Borders Books/Music/Cafe, Princeton; Princeton University, Princeton; Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton; First Baptist Church, Moorestown NJ; Too many temp agencies to name; Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Peoria; Eastern College (now University), St. Davids; Belk Department Store, Greensboro; Lemstone Books, Greensboro; The Cookie Jar, Greensboro; University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro; Burger King, Greensboro and Asheboro; Hardees, Asheboro

Schools I've attended

The Ohio State University; Ohio Dominican University; Princeton Theological Seminary; Eastern College/University; UNC @ Greensboro; Western Carolina University; Asheboro High School; Chenango Forks High School; Chenango Forks Middle School; Chenango Bridge Elementary School; Vestal Hills Elementary School

Other names

ljrenoirgirl, amykaywat, amykaywatson