Faculty Spotlight: Tamara Wolcott-Watson

Faculty members are the backbone of the academic experience, bringing knowledge, mentorship, and leadership into every corner of campus life. These accomplished people work hard every day to educate and prepare students to succeed in every aspect of their future career. While teaching is often measured in syllabi and tests, its real influence shows up elsewhere, in confidence built, curiosity sparked and lives gently redirected. One of those influential professors is Tamara Wolcott-Watson from the Visual Art, Communication & Design department, who prioritizes preparing her students adequately through hands-on exercises and treating them with care.

Before becoming a teacher, Professor Watson worked for many years in communication, where she used her skills for marketing and public relations-based tasks. When asked what she was most proud of, Watson reflected on her time running a teen pregnancy prevention program in central Florida called “Not me, Not now”. She said, “We were trying to just tell them, you don’t need to have a baby now. You can have a baby later. So have a career. Not me, not now, right?” Watson also worked with South Florida State College, the Workforce Investment Act and did many more things with the state of Florida. She also spent 15 years working for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, where she was the head of communications. Watson oversaw everything about the conference. She managed about 100 events a year, all of the publications and started their social media platforms. “I got reelected every five years, so I felt like I was doing a good job.” 

Eventually, Watson moved over to teaching, and that’s what she’s been doing for the past 5 years. She was drawn to Andrews in 2023 because of the family she has here. In the past, she also worked with the chair, Dan Weber, who encouraged her to join the staff. Even though Watson has only taught here for 3 years, in that time she’s been given more and more classes to teach because of her broad range of experience. In her classes, she focuses more on hands-on work, actually working with clientele and simulating a real workplace environment. “I’m also teaching an advanced PR class, which I’m running like a PR agency. I’m really excited about it!” The students have chosen several clubs to help with their PR using the skills they’re learning in this class to feel how it is to work with real clients and improve in advertising. “Last year, we started TikTok and YouTube, and this year we’re adding Snapchat and Twitter just for fun. Just because I want students to rotate between platforms and get that experience.”

Everyone has a role model or inspiring person they look up to, and for Watson, it was her grandmother, who always encouraged her throughout her life. “She always told me that I could do anything I wanted to do. She always told me I was special and she always believed in me.” Watson recalled that her grandmother had started painting in her 70s and became proficient despite her age. There’s no age limit and no time limit to doing the things you want to do. When asked what she would say to her younger self, Watson had this to say, “I think I would just tell myself she was right. Believe her. You can do anything you want to do.”
Why does any teacher teach? For Watson, she does it for the students that she loves and wants to succeed in life. Watson hopes students leaving her class feel equipped and informed. “[Communication Skills] is where I have my most number of students, and I want them to think, I can now do this. I’m informed, I know how to do it and I’m equipped, I know how to do it.” She loves the diversity here and how eager her students are to learn, and that gives her fulfillment in her position. When asked to give advice to the current students, she said, “Just believe. Believe Grandma.”