Psychiatrist Patricia Lester is the director of UCLA’s Project FOCUS, which offers resiliency training for military families, as well as the Nathanson Family Resilience Center. Before participating in a panel on how war affects families, she explained why she likes working with children, and when she’s at her most resilient in the Zócalo green room.
How do you react when you’re embarrassed?
I become more quiet.
What’s your favorite pizza topping?
Some kind of vegetable combination.
What’s the last UCLA sporting event you attended?
I attended a football game with the Operation MEND team at Pasadena at the Rose Bowl.
What’s your favorite plant or flower?
Probably a violet.
What do you do to decompress?
I take my dog to the park, or I do something with my family. I like to go on walks.
What channel is your TV most likely to be tuned to?
HBO.
What’s your favorite part of working with children?
There’s always a sense of progression and hope that’s implicit in development, and you always have this feeling of curiosity about what’s unfolding, and seeing them in their community, their family, and the connections they make is quite remarkable—to see what the possibilities are.
When are you at your most resilient?
When I’m solving a problem. I like to build things and solve problems and work in teams to do that, and I think that probably brings out my resilient side.
What’s the last habit you tried to kick?
I don’t know. Maybe nail-biting.
If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?
I think I would like to go to Africa.