Meet a Colleague: Annie Robinson

Meet a Colleague: Annie Robinson Annie Robinson serves as the director of student counseling.

W&L News Office
April 15, 2026

Q. How long have you worked at W&L?
I joined the counseling team as a contract therapist in 2014.

Q. What is the favorite aspect of your job at W&L?
This isn't unique to leading Lindley Counseling, but I've always liked the ritual of coming to work, working hard while I'm here, and hopefully bettering the W&L ecosystem in some way. I enjoy thinking strategically about what it means to be well and how higher education can best support wellbeing.

Q. If you chose a different path, what other career would you have?
I'd be very happy overseeing and puttering around a bed-and-breakfast.

Q. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Austin, Texas until middle childhood and then lived in Columbia, South Carolina through high school.

Q. What was your favorite subject in school?
Nothing springs to mind? I love learning, but usually resonate with things outside the classroom setting, or any subjects that are more hands-on, real world. Even going back to elementary school, I loved all my extracurriculars, little odd jobs, chores, volunteer work, etc.

Q. What three words describe you best?
Versatile, wry, rearranger.

Q. Name one person from history you would like to spend a day with and why.
A maternal family member, HP Faye, came to Kaua'i from Norway during the early years of sugar development on the Hawaiian Islands. Generations of family stayed, and my mom grew up on O'ahu and Kaua'i. HP looms large in our family story, and I'd like to talk with him about his experience ethically, emotionally and logistically.

Q. Who is the most famous person you have met and where did you meet them?
I met Bruce Springsteen backstage at Madison Square Garden after a concert - maybe mid-2000s? Long story.

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Outside shoes being worn inside.

Q. What do you like to do away from work?
I'm still in the thick of it raising young children. So, realistically, I like life peppered with a few extroverted events, maybe a friend gathering, concert or weekend getaway. Otherwise, quiet time with family and going to bed at 8:30 p.m. I hope this ratio shifts as my children become more independent.

Q. What is your least favorite chore at home?
Cleaning out backpacks and lunchboxes.

Q. What is your favorite family holiday tradition?
From my dad's side: for Christmas, you draw a name for one family member and present a small gift accompanied by an original poem. Peevishness about this tradition is also part of the tradition.

Q. What is the most adventurous thing that you have ever done?
At 30, I found myself at major crossroad. I followed my heart, left New York City, and started an unexpected chapter in my professional and personal life. A different kind of adventure, for sure, but in many ways the one that has most defined my life so far.

Q. What do you pretend to hate but secretly love?
Hard deadlines.

Q. What is your all-time favorite food or food dish?
Beans and rice, whatever the cuisine.

Q. Where would you choose to build your dream home?
I think it's less about where and more about what. I'm picturing a stone exterior, rambling garden, lots of old family furniture, my children's art through the years, books everywhere, a cat, huge windows that open and cozy, small rooms. My husband and I periodically host all our loved ones, and otherwise, lead a simple life.

Q. What is your all-time favorite book?
Harking way back, E.B. White's children's books. More recently, I loved "North Woods" by Daniel Mason.

Q. What is your all-time favorite movie?
I think I watched "The Sound of Music" a thousand times as a kid. We had it on VHS, taped with commercials and all.

Q. Tell us something most people don't know about you.
I'd like to be a bluebird in my next life.