Building and Embracing Community: Q+A with Lily Lockwood

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Lily Lockwood

Class of 2026

Peace and Justice Studies, BA
Women’s and Gender Studies, BA

How did you become interested in pursuing a double major in Peace and Justice Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies?

I entered Pace as an undecided major because I wasn’t exactly sure what path I wanted to pursue. During my spring semester, I added a Peace and Justice Studies (PJS) course, The Artist as Activist and Activist as Artist, with Emily Welty, PhD, to my schedule because I wanted to get a taste of the major. Over the course of the semester, I fell more in love with PJS and knew I would be declaring it as a major.

Around the same time, I became interested in pursuing a Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies minor to complement the PJS curriculum. At the start of my second year, I had taken so many Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS) courses, met professors I wanted to continue studying with, and found courses I still wanted to take. So, it seemed only natural to add it as a double major. Like the year before, I decided to declare a Queer Studies minor to complement the WGS coursework. Every time I return to a PJS or WGS classroom, I am reminded of just how much I love studying both subjects.

Why did you choose to attend Pace?

I chose Pace because the first time I visited the New York City campus, I felt more welcomed and excited about going to college than on any other college tour I attended. Having been here for a couple of years now, I think a big part of that immediate sense of comfort is due to the strong queer, femme, and activist presence that I feel on campus, particularly within my majors. Pace also offered me the largest scholarship of the schools I applied to, which definitely made my decision even easier.

What have your experiences been like with the departments of your major? What faculty members have been instrumental in your academic journey?

I am so incredibly grateful for the connections I’ve made with my professors over the past few years, and many of them have been very instrumental during my time at Pace.

Professor Welty has been the most influential professor I’ve had the privilege to learn from and work with; not only is she an incredibly fascinating person with a wealth of knowledge and experience, her teaching and my learning style are very compatible, particularly due to her attention to pedagogy. She has also put deliberate effort and care into building a relationship and connection with me as a person, student, and activist.

“I chose Pace because the first time I visited the New York City campus, I felt more welcomed and excited about going to college than on any other college tour I attended. I think a big part of that immediate sense of comfort is due to the strong queer, femme, and activist presence that I feel on campus, particularly within my majors.”

In addition, Professor Emily Bent, PhD, co-director of the Dyson Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI), of which I am a fellow, is someone I’ve gotten to know both in classes, and as an advisor to the work I am doing with the WLI. Her feminist work in the nonprofit sector and at the United Nations has provided me opportunities to engage with those environments. For example, as a part of my Gender and Human Rights class, I attended the 67th annual Commission on the Status of Women, a two-week conference at the UN, in which I participated in both general assembly and civil society events.

Further, Professor and Chair of Women’s and Gender Studies Meghana Nayak, PhD, offered to be a resource to me from the very beginning as I was exploring majors, and her support and friendliness throughout the years has made my student experience all the easier.

In spring 2024, you participated in the Bread and Puppet Theater workshop at Judson Memorial Church. Tell us more about how meaningful this event was to you.

I believe that the Bread and Puppet workshop on cantastorias will have real life applications in my current and future organizing. I’ve already included the method in a protest plan and intend to use it more widely, particularly to share the medium with new audiences. The workshop also encouraged community building within the major and provided us an opportunity to learn from experts at the top of their field. The workshop truly reignited a flame within me for organizing and protest, particularly because of how fun and engaging the experience was. The paper itself recounted the workshop setting and experience and included feedback from its participants.

What other activities and organizations are you involved with at Pace?

When I first came to Pace, I knew I wanted to become involved in a race-based affinity space, which led me to the Office of Multicultural Affairs (ōMA), its Shades: Women of Color Collective, and Denise Belén Santiago, PhD, ōMA’s director and a professor of anthropology. I have worked with her in the Anti-Racist Advocates program, which has allowed me to attend the Critical Race Theory Bootcamp hosted by the African American Policy Forum the past two summers, as well as work on a number of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives at Pace.

In addition, during fall 2023, I was selected to be one of 30 Pace students participating in the United Nations Academic Impact Millennium Fellowship. As this fellowship requires you to be a part of an on-campus cohort, it was an amazing opportunity to connect with other passionate Pace students and work towards making a social impact with our projects.

I also work as a student assistant for central advisement and New Student Experience and Transitions, as I was immediately drawn to the infectious energy, positivity, and groundedness of the director of the Advising Center for Exploring Majors, Shannon Haick, who asked me if I’d be interested in working in that office, and I continue to work the front desk there. I am also a peer leader for UNV 101.

What would you like to do upon graduation/what are your career goals?

I would like to pursue a career in the peace and justice studies field. One path I’ve considered is community organizing because this is what I have the most experience doing and I like working outside of the confines of the state and its institutions, rather than trying to change the system from within. I also have a particular interest in making diverse and inclusive curriculum and education accessible to all communities. An alternative path that has sparked my interest is truth-telling and reconciliation work. The power of communication and community that are central to the truth-telling process resonate deeply with me and I think it would be very powerful to be able to facilitate a reconciliatory space.

What advice would you like to give to our current students?

The transition to college is just that, a transition, and I think it is important to treat it as such. You have so many opportunities available to you, whether at Pace or in the city and surroundings. Keep an open mind and explore everything. While you have all this newfound freedom, it also comes with the responsibility to take care of yourself. There are many supports available to you, but it is up to you to seek them out and get what you need. You may not need the same things you needed when you were in high school, so give yourself the grace to find what works for you now.