Interview of Nadine Waran-Perrero

Global Leadership Project Interview Transcript

Ella: Hi Nadine. So, to start off, I'm going to ask you a really grounding question for our discussion and it is what does leadership mean to you?

Nadine: So, leadership for me, and thank you Ella for having me here today just to you know interview on this, but leadership for me is taking an initiative. I think that's the biggest thing for leadership in my opinion, whether it's initiatives to foster relationships in the industry for students because that's mainly what I do. My purpose is working for students here at the Curb College inside and outside of the classroom. So, that's really nice, but definitely forging those relationships within the industry, whether it is in also finding different ways to amplify our curriculum and educational facets for the college as well. I think those are the types of things that a true leader exemplifies.

Ella: Yeah, definitely, like just communicating. I feel like in order to keep those relationships and keep them authentic, communication is like a big part of that.

Nadine: Yes, definitely a very big part of it for sure.

Ella: My next question, I remember you mentioning during student leadership conferences that you know multiple languages and maybe even lived in other countries before. So, what cultural identities and experiences are most notable for you?

Nadine: This one was a very tough one to think about just because with different countries and different cultures, you can see a lot of pros in them. Living in Malaysia, this I definitely have to mention because that was my home country for seventeen years. So, living in Malaysia, the wonderful things and you know it's just a hodgepodge of cultures and diverse city and people. You have the Asian Indians, the Asian Chinese, the Malays, you have Punjabis, you have people from so many different parts of the world that migrated into Malaysia, creating this whole experience of multi-cultural shared values and stories. I would say in Malaysia, hospitality was a very big thing. So, the way that people would display hospitality was through their food, just the way tourists were taken care of, just so many different parts of that and that was beautiful.

Then living in Germany for three and a half years, I think that was a culture shock moving from Asia, Southeast Asia and going into Germany. In Germany it was, you know, being a working woman now and seeing how they operated there as a young adolescent moving into adulthood like full blown working. You can see these kinds of ethics where if they worked, they really worked hard as especially in the environment I was in. Then whenever people were away from work and they were on vacation, they vacationed hard like they enjoyed their time and rest. Those two worlds sometimes did interact with one another, but they were very good about separating them as well. So, family time is family time, working time is working time, and we're going to do both of them individually very well. So yeah, that was Germany.

Then coming to America and seeing how beautiful the culture is here because it's so different in America. Every state that you go to, the 10 years that I've been here, every state I've gone to, I've noticed different types of comforts, different types of work ethic. It's also like Malaysia, quite multicultural and it's nice and you come to the South, and you have people who are very hospitable and excited and then love welcoming you. Then you go into a space like Chicago that I lived in for a little while as well and it's also great. Everyone is kind of, you know, in the mode of hospitable working, excited to be in the industry, excited to be where they are and it's been a great experience all around. So, I can't really specifically pinpoint exactly which culture, or you know anything I was particularly excited about. I think it's been so much, and I'm excited for more to come as traveling and things happen in the future as well.

Ella: Yeah, I mean it definitely sounds like hospitality and work ethic are the things in each of those places that you really mentioned the most.

What took you to Germany, though?

Nadine: Germany. Well, my father worked in Germany, and right after school, I guess my brother was over there, and I decided that the opportunity was presenting itself. So, it just made sense. At seventeen, you are kind of in this mode, of limbo mode, where you are kind of like, oh, what do I want to do next? Moving to Germany, I still continued dancing, I was enrolled in the Modern School of Music and did some vocal performance still there and piano and learned the language and enjoyed that and just built so many relationships. It's crazy because three years, being in Germany for three and a half years, kind of just flew by and it was an experience that I was so happy I had before coming to America. It really did change my life and my view of the world.

Ella: I actually studied abroad in London last semester and that experience was really valuable. I did travelling throughout Europe and it is really just so eye opening to see.

Nadine: Was it your first time out of the country?

Ella: No. My family has travelled mostly in the Caribbean, and I had been to London once before with my family, but we were there for a week and it was a whole family thing. It was actually making up for COVID. We were supposed to go there in 2020. So, we did that not this past summer, but the summer before. It was really nice to be able to go back and feel comfortable in that space because then I felt like I was able to go to other places and really be ready to go visit those other countries, too.

Nadine: Yes, and that culture is so wonderful for you. So, I'm so glad that you had that experience. That's wonderful.

Ella: So, my next question. What drew you to Belmont? You were just talking about living in multiple parts of the US. What brought you here?

Nadine: Well, it's so, it's very interesting. I think this Belmont journey was very different for me. So, I've only been at Belmont for maybe two years, but I feel like out of all of the countries and all of the places and all of the states that I've stayed and lived, I think this has been one that's really high impact. I guess like everything else. But, the experience coming to Nashville and coming to Belmont has been very high impact. So, my background is in classical Indian dance. I did some jazz vocal performance, I play the piano, I play the guitar.

I was in Chicago for two years, I did a lot of things with theater, so live theater and performance and things like that. When I was expecting my first child, my son, that's when my husband and I kind of had to take a pause and say, hey, we need to establish ourselves in a space right now. We need to actually hunker down and not try to keep moving to different parts of the world. So, what do we do? He and I, the one thing that we do have in common, and his scope of work is not the creative arts, he's a guitarist, though, and we met through a gig and we both enjoy music. Although we've lived in spaces like the East Coast where it's very creative, and then lived in Chicago where it's also very creative, we had to sit down and say, hey, let's move to Nashville because I think Nashville is a space where it can have a balance and let's just see how it goes.

We moved to Nashville. Perfect! Everything was wonderful. We were so excited, and we had my son and then I had an interview at Belmont. I think the thing that drew me to Belmont was all of these things and experiences, my background, it was just so broad, and I wanted to find a field that was as broad, and I was also very interested in academia and that's I think my passion. So, I interviewed at Belmont. I interviewed with this incredible woman. Her name is Dr. Cheryl Carr, and she is just such a trailblazer, just someone who has done so much for the Curb College and done so much for the students here as well. So, I had one interview with her, and I will never forget it. Seeing someone from her background and her creative self, I think that really drew me in already. Then I had the on-campus interview and mind you, I lived like an hour and a half away. Coming and travelling to Belmont was already like, oh my gosh, we just bought our house an hour and a half away. Can we really do this? But I came to campus, and I met the staff, and it was during the COVID times, and everyone had their masks on and oh my gosh, I think they just stole my heart. I was so surprised at the way everyone in the Curb College operated and how much they just embraced people in general. It was my first time meeting them, and they were just so wonderful, the staff and faculty definitely. Then I got to meet the Dean at the time, Doug Howard, and I think, whoa, that was an experience of itself. He's done so much for me throughout the two years that I've been here at Belmont, meeting Doug Howard and then fostering some great relationships here, building some good mentors like Dr. David Schreiber and things like that. I think it just really solidified things for me. Then and still now makes me know that this is the place that I want to be for a very long time.

Then working with the students, and Belmont students are, oh my gosh, Belmont students are incredible. Curb College students are so amazing, and I think that also really, really, really continues to draw me. Students are so exciting. There's so much that they learn from the teachers, and you know us, but at the same time there's so much that we can learn from you guys because you bring your own set of talents and skills. I think there's so much that we can learn from one another. That's a long, long answer to your very short question, but all of that draws me to Belmont and so I'm very happy to be here.

Ella: Oh yeah, that's wonderful. So, while you were talking about growing up, you grew up performing and all that? What drew you into the performance space initially?

Nadine: So, my grandfather on my mom's side, my maternal grandfather, he was a very big composer in Malaysia for piano. He composed a lot of jazz piano music. In Malaysia, at his time, that was not really a big thing because, you know, Malaysia is more known for hospitality than the entertainment industry. His very big thing was jazz music. He composed that. I think that was already the initial start to, oh, I want to definitely be in music when it came to classical Indian dance. My grandmother on my paternal side, she was a singer and also, she's Hindu so she was always in the temple and that's where we took our classical dances. She got me really into that, and that's where I started with Bharatanatyam. It's one of those arts that I think even when you've left it, you want to stay in its kind of thing. So, I've used it. I still dance, and I still teach, and I'm hoping to teach my seven-month-old when she's a little bit bigger. So, it's all of that and everything to do with the arts. It's something that I just love and I'm so happy that I've been able to do it. Even coming to the Curb College, I'm still able to express it and relate to other students and faculty with all of that as well.

Ella: That's really interesting. It's really interesting to me to hear about how people got into performing and all that because in my family, I didn't have anyone in my family that made me or didn't really inspire me to get into it. They like listening to music, but that's about it. So, it was more so in school where I found my music teachers. I was really fortunate that in my high school that I had music production classes and that was, my teacher that was like, hey, you should consider music business. That's how I found my way to Belmont.

Nadine: Ella, do you play any instruments?

Ella: So, I grew up playing piano and I did classical piano, mostly, a little bit of jazz, but mostly classical piano. I did that for about 10 years, and then I came to college. I brought my keyboard and then didn't use it. So that was sad, but I’m definitely not as good as I used to be. I'll go home and I'll play a little bit because I have my keyboard in my room, and then we have an actual piano downstairs. I'll play that, but it's definitely something that I want to get back into when I'm able to really just focus on my job and not internships and school and then other things.

Nadine: So, you know, I think you're on the right track. I think balancing it out is the hardest thing to do because you are doing so much as a student, you know, you're studying, you're trying to make sure that you ace your classes, be at your classes. It's what you know, you're doing all of that, and then you're interning and then you're working and then you're trying to find a job. It's all of these things.I think the one thing that I had to make myself do, especially because I went to undergrad in classical music, and I wanted to kind of me be more of like the pop jazz still. So, I would carve out just even if it was like 20 minutes in my day, like in a week, just to get myself into that, that was like the one thing I could do for myself. It was very gratifying, but it's so tough, and I commend you for all of the incredible things you're balancing right now. So, wow.

Ella: I mean even though I'm not playing anything, because I also did choir as well and when I was in high school, I did show choir, so I have a background in singing, I still do that. I'll just do that in my room, but obviously listening to music keeps me with it and I like to listen to music a lot when I'm doing things. But, then also even with doing kind of like arts and crafts kind of stuff, I feel like that's still a really creative outlet. I do paint by numbers, and I'll get little things from the dollar store that I can paint and do for a little bit. So, I still definitely have a creative, calming, relaxing outlet I guess which is good even if it’s not classical piano anymore.

Nadine: Well, I'm glad that you're still finding that in the in the intensity of everything. Yeah, you've got it. You've got it.

Ella: Thank you.

So, my next question, you kind of touched on this a little bit already, talking about the students in Curb and all that, but so leaders help to turn ideas into action and empower others. How do you accomplish this with students at Belmont?

Nadine: Oh my gosh, this is still definitely a journey and I'm still trying to find different ways to make sure that this happens. So, my main job right now is everything to do with student enrichment, everything to do with it. The big thing in my job is definitely the seminars that I host with industry professionals that come and speak to students and students are able to ask them questions. I think that's a very, very big thing. This year, so I was just appointed as the chair of the diversity committee within the Curb College, a very big thing that I am passionate about is ensuring that diversity and inclusivity is added into our everything that we do. Whether it is our programming, whether it is on our mentorship programs, whether it is on helping search for staff, in fact future staff and faculty that have similar phases just who are asking questions, wanting to learn more about the industry they're entering. I want them to be able to see themselves and the people that they're communicating with that come to the Curb College. That's a very, very big thing and for me, it doesn't have to do just with people of color. This is going to be, you know, diversity across everything. It's even people who identify with, you know, it's if it's something personal like gender identification. I think that is so important to create safe spaces for our students who are going to enter into the industry. That's what I'm doing and hoping to continue to do, and I think eventually, because I am very passionate about the type of curriculum that we have here at the Curb College, I think something that I would love to establish as we continue conversations within the college and the incredible staff that, you know, we have here and the faculty that we have hired on as well is talk about how we can expend this into our curriculum to make it not just national and domestic but also like expend globally. I know Belmont is already incredible in championing and doing this. So yes, that's again a long, long answer to your short question.

Ella: So, how do you use your connections to bring in these speakers for your seminars?

Nadine: How do I use the connections to bring them in? A lot of the people that I work with, say last semester we brought in a diversity panel, we would, I would work with the faculty. I would look at the faculty who are very much so in the industry and we would have conversations on how we can both kind of foster their relationships with the current relationships they already have and see how we can bring that into campus. It's the faculty, it's the staff that we work with. If it's ever a virtual panel or a seminar that we might want to be doing, we can always do that with more than just people who are here. Building those connections with people or my contacts in Chicago or my contacts in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New York, those kinds of things, that's how I work with people, just to bring speakers in. Our faculties, they are very knowledgeable, and they have so many wonderful ideas and I think that's a big thing. Also listening to the students, because some students, they have needs and wants. I think it's just identifying, you know, what works really well with the Curb College and listening to that call and looking for that in the industry as well and bringing that into our seminars and programming and mentorships and things like that.

Ella: Then you're the advisor for Service Corps? I know you said at the Student Leadership Conference that usually you touch base every week. How's that incorporated into your leadership position at Belmont?

Nadine: Yeah, oh my goodness, I love Service Corps. Service Corps, the students, I'm saying we have twenty-one student organizations in the Curb College. All of these student organizations are just, the leadership teams, they're so, so good. You know everyone I think operates very independently very well and Service Corps is a great example of that as well because they take initiative. I think we have ten members in the leadership team of Service Corps, and my checking in is one thing, but I want to always make sure that I am giving them the support and empowering them to take that initiative to be hands on in their leadership roles. Because when they graduate, when the leadership team graduates, and goes into the industry, they are going to take all of these incredible qualities that they've learned from Belmont and from the Curb College and from their work and they are going to bring that into the industry. My check-ins with my incredible president of Service Corps is mainly just us coming together, going through what's happening within the organization, and just seeing how we can improve on, or how we can continue doing the great work that we are doing. I feel like it's very independent for Service Corp. I can't take full credit for their incredible work because they've really just taken it and ran with it. I've been so fortunate to work with such a wonderful leadership team, and all I'm doing is, I’m here to empower them to make sure that, you know, I can support them in whatever way that they need.

Ella: Yeah, that's really awesome. I’m on exec for Women in Entertainment and every time we come to you with a question, you're always there to answer. We're always so appreciative. Exec for Women in Entertainment just think that you're so awesome.

Nadine: Oh my gosh, you guys are so amazing. Oh, my goodness, you guys are so amazing. Seriously, you make it so easy and so wonderful. I feel so lucky and honored to be able to work with you guys. So, thank you.

Ella: Yeah, thank you.

Then my last big question for you and it's, I know you already have seen it, but it's definitely a big question to consider and answer. But I'm just curious because you have a very unique background and you have really unique experience, and so I'm just curious, what do you want your legacy to be at Belmont, in Nashville, anywhere? How would you answer that question?

Nadine: My gosh. So, I don't know if you know this or not, but I've never actually done an extensive interview just talking about myself. So, this is, this was definitely something that I was really thinking about and considering during my drive here today. Actually, I think I have to mention it, right, and you all know this. I have two babies, so I call them my babies. I have a seven-month-old and a two-year-old, and I want to make sure that whatever I impart to them is something that they can take and carry to the world and actually make the world a better place. I know how cliche that sounds, but it's so true.

Sometimes when I am with my students, or I'm with my colleagues and my fellow staff and my friends here, I also want to make sure that whatever I'm doing and all the work that I'm doing in this college is going to extend beyond my work now and also give the college and everything external from the college a more positive experience for everyone. I think when it comes to that, I'm talking about whatever I've learned in the creative arts, if it's through my teaching, which I so love and so enjoy, and I have incredible students, if it's through that, I want to make sure that I'm giving them opportunities. I am connecting people, creating relationships for my students with people who are in the industry so that they can go into a work environment that they're comfortable with.

Another thing, and I think I mentioned this earlier as well, when it comes to curriculum, I would hope that in the future I'm more involved in creating more international relationships for Belmont, for Curb College and, you know, being able to connect people with other industries outside of Nashville and the country. I think that will be a great legacy to have. Whatever it is, I think a lot of my work I want to make sure that I'm continuously giving rather more than receiving. I've received plenty because I work with incredible people and incredible students. I just want to see how I can give back to make sure that they feel that, you know, they feel that reciprocation for all of the incredible things that I've already received.

So yeah, I don't know if that answers the question fully, but I'm hoping it somewhat does touch on it.

Ella: It definitely answers it. Then your part about expanding internationally and stuff like, I found that really interesting just because I am an international business emphasis. So, I would definitely love to see that on campus more and more, as in international speakers coming to seminars or stuff like that. Is that kind of what you're talking about?

Nadine: Yes. Oh, my goodness. We have our calendar for this year's programming, it’s quite full already in this fall, but I think in the spring we're already looking at trying to figure out how to get international people from Asia and Europe to come and speak on campus or even have a virtual seminar. I can't really name those yet, but we're trying to see how we can bring more international voices in the creative arts, in music business, in creative industries, to have voices in the Curb College so that students can see beyond, you know, beyond what they find is the world that they're entering. I want them to be able to expand that and be like, oh my goodness, I can do all of this. I can go to these other spaces and find people who I can connect with because I've had these conversations, I've asked these questions. Hopefully that works out really well. We will see.

Also definitely, you know, looking at education and how we can expend that globally as well and how students can have more study abroad programs and stuff. That will be a later thing, but all of that is in the radar of my dream, the cloud in my head.

Ella: Yes, that is really awesome, and I'm sure you’ll be able to find a bunch of other professors and stuff on campus that are willing to help you reach that.

Nadine: Yes, I have already, even meeting in the global leadership department. You know, it's incredible to see what work they are doing. Over here too, at the Curb College, and my big inspiration and example is someone like Dr. David Schreiber, who is doing so much to make sure that there are partnerships outside of the country. It's beautiful to watch, and it's so inspiring.

Ella: So, those are all the questions that I have for you today. Thank you so much for helping me out with this project. I've loved learning all these different things about you and your background and what leadership means to you. It's been really helpful.

Nadine: Yeah. Thank you so much.

Ella: Thank you.