Carol Lisa Hom

Posted in Staff Spotlight

April 18, 2024

Name: Carol Lisa Hom
Preferred Pronouns: She/her/hers
Title: Senior Program Coordinator, Department of Human Science, School of Health
How long have you worked at Georgetown?: 12 years out of my 27+ years at Georgetown
What led you to your position here at GUMC?: After 16 years as the Operations and Administrator for Georgetown University’s Safety and Environmental Management Department (SEM) I transferred to the Department of Human Science (HSCI) to not only help support Dr. Rosie Sokas and the HSCI faculty, staff and students, but to have more time for my 13-year-old son after my SEM director retired in 2010, and when I became a single parent and a widow in 2011.
In your role, how do you interact with the GUMC community?: I help the faculty, staff and students in the Department of Human Science, not only with academic support for the courses, the administration and operation of the department, but I help build the community with our hangouts, class meetings, retreats and the Undergraduate Research Conference.
What do you enjoy most about your job?: I enjoy helping others — making their jobs a little bit easier with all the small things that I can do to help them.
What is a skill you have that might surprise people?: That I’m artistic and scientific. My creativity and scientific inquiry came from my father, who owned an art gallery and custom frame shop, and my mother, who was a histotechnologist and supervised the Infectious Disease Lab at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Seeing the variety and beauty of all the art in my father’s gallery and in the cells through the electron microscope and coverslipping the slides in my mother’s lab inspired and encouraged me to create my own art — Seeing Rhetoric — of my life on paper, in digital form or other mediums I get to explore.
What did you learn about yourself as a professional during the pandemic?: It was heartwarming that I could still support my colleagues no matter where I was — even 14 miles from where I normally would be in St. Mary’s Hall at Georgetown University. I helped by conveying messages, links to webpages for help and even with “wellness checks” via email and Zoom meetings to make sure they were OK with the added responsibilities of teaching virtually.
What do you like to do in your free time?: If I’m not volunteering my time and talents at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church or Gonzaga College High School, I like to go thrifting — therapeutic shopping — to find treasures that I can use and give a new life rather than end up in the landfill.
What is your greatest achievement (personal or professional)?: Actually, I have two greatest achievements in my life. First, in 1998, not only did I become a mother, but with the help and support from my husband, Charley, I went back to school. I graduated (a First Generation graduate) from the University of Maryland in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Communication and Technology, a major I created by combining my computer science courses with art, education and communication. My second-greatest achievement is my son, Charles Orison Lorenzo Magnetti. His love and support always helped me make the best decision I could at the time. He worked hard and graduated from Gonzaga College High School and Mount St. Mary’s University. I’m a proud parent, especially that he now works with Phylander Pannell Witherspoon at Georgetown Events Management Services (GEMS).
What is the best lesson you have learned from working at GUMC?: With patience and faith, God blesses us with rewards. My daily challenges strengthen my faith in God that I’ll overcome them and be rewarded with our students walking across the stage as graduates of Georgetown University and living to be “lifelong learners, be responsible and active participants in civic life, and to live generously in service to others.”