Georgetown College. Georgetown University.

Dr. Gina Wimp (Photo: Roland Dimaya)

What do you regard as your greatest academic success?
Becoming a professor at Georgetown University.

What is your idea of happiness?
Any time spent with my family.

Who or what was the greatest influence in your life that led to your career?
There were four people who all had a significant influence on my career. My mother encouraged my interest in ecology. She was not able to finish college because she went to work full-time to support my dad while he was in college, but she was always keenly interested in biology. She was an excellent botanist and naturalist and taught me the plants you could eat to survive if you were ever stranded in the woods (I was raised in a small mountain town in Colorado, so this was not a completely unrealistic possibility). She was also my Girl Scout leader, and a large part of my fascination with ecology began on our hiking and camping trips. While my family in general has been very supportive of my career (I was the first person to earn a Ph.D. in my family), my dad and my grandmother have always pushed me to do my best and succeed in academic endeavors. My grandmother always said that, “an education is something that no one can ever take away from you,” and my dad was always extremely proud of everything I accomplished. Also, my faculty mentor at Baylor, Dawn Adams, helped me find my career path in college and gave me the support and advice I needed to find a graduate advisor who was a perfect match for me.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Nothing. Even the mistakes I have made in life have taught me something valuable, so I would not change a thing.

What do you enjoy about teaching?
I enjoy presenting students with a problem or question and watching the path they take to finding a solution. The satisfaction they feel when they solve difficult problems is an amazing thing to behold.

Who are your favorite heroes/heroines in real life (and why)?
My grandmother has been one of my biggest real-life heroines. She always had the courage to live her life in exactly the way that she wanted. Because she was so avant-garde, this made her life extremely difficult at times, but she chose to live the life she wanted for herself rather than one that others chose for her.

Who is your favorite musician?
Stevie Wonder.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
I would change the way in which humans value life—both human and non-human.

What is your favorite word?
Possible.

What is the best piece of advice you could give to your students?
Never let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do. If you believe in yourself, that is the first and most important step in achieving your goals.

What is your motto?
Live long and prosper.

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