(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights William Carey University Director of Telecommunications and Field Services Lloyd Thompson. He is also pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Columbia.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born Jan. 30, 1972, here in Columbia.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I attended Columbia High School, Pearl River Community College through the Air Force and I have three degrees from William Carey.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I have two jobs at William Carey. I am the director of telecommunications and field services, which is basically the help desk side of the IT department. I also manage all of the telephones and wireless network equipment. I am an Avaya engineer and an ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) project manager. I also teach counseling and psychology. I am also the pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: When I was a child, Ms. Cotton taught computer camp in Columbia. Everybody else played sports, and I went to computer camp. I started off with an old TI computer and would write programs. I drifted down another road for a while and served in the Air Force as an airplane mechanic. I worked for AAA Ambulance for several years, but when I felt my call to ministry I went back to school and fell back on that old skill set.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: I think the best thing is that I don’t have a job. I haven’t worked in 11 years because I do what I love and they pay me for it. I get to work with cutting-edge technology, and it’s always something different every day, especially since the tornado. I didn’t just inherit a system. I got to rebuild a system like I wanted it with all fiber through and through.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: Time management because I also pastor a church.
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career?
A: Never quit, just keep going and don’t settle.
Q: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I wanted to be an astronaut. Who wouldn’t want to go to space?
Q: What was your first job?
A: The first job I ever had was refinishing furniture for Ben Watts when they had R&B Decorating Center.
Q: Who is the person who has been most influential in your life?
A: Ben Holbrook and Ben Watts. I took the road less traveled, and they kept believing in me, investing in me and pushing me.
Q: What is your spouse’s name?
A: Sandy. She works through a grant in Jeff Davis County and helps people with reading. She has also been a big influence.
Q: Do you have children?
A: I have four children: Jonathan, David, Catharine and Benjamin. I also have a grandson, Jackson.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: Ribs from Leatha’s Bar-B-Que Inn.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: Japan. It’s just on my bucket list.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I fool with antique computers, repairing them and writing code for them, and I fly radio-control planes.
Q: What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?
A: I love serving the church here in Columbia. I have some old cars I tinker on, and I enjoy that.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: Steve Jobs to talk to him about how he was able to effectively herd cats and turn a corporation around.
Q: If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do all day?
A: Exactly what I’m doing.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on who you are today?
A: Not just when I accepted Christ but when I decided to follow that call to ministry. I ran from it for a little while. When I followed that call, I had no idea how much my life would turn around, the places it would lead me and the people I’d get to meet.
Q: What is one thing you want to do that you’ve never tried?
A: I want to use a wing suit. It looks like a blast.
Q: Using one word for each, what are your top three morals?
A: Trustworthy, honesty and loyalty.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I’d like to be remembered well. I’d like to be remembered for leaving things better than I found it.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Lloyd Thompson, pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church, said accepting the calling to ministry impacted his life the most and gave him the opportunity to meet a lot of great people. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
