Lily Cooper

I was feeling a little restless, and I’ve always loved to travel. I thought maybe it was time to shake things up a bit, so I was actually in the middle of a job search – hoping to land overseas somewhere. In the midst of the process, a coworker of mine mentioned Remote Year. She had a friend doing it who reminded her of me. I wasn’t on the website for more than forty-five seconds before I applied.  
 

How did you find yourself a remote role?

I had never worked remotely before, and it’s not a big part of our firm’s culture. Remote Year led me through the process of creating a business case to present to my upper management – outlining what exactly Remote Year is, what it offers, why it’s good for me, why it’s good for my company, which of my then current roles could transition to Remote Year, and what the challenges might be.

I was nervous going into the meeting with my managing partner – having been told by others in the firm that I had little to no chance of making this happen –  but it was actually well received. My boss was impressed I had the balls to propose something so new and more or less said “if we can work out the logistics and find enough work for you to do remotely, I don’t see why not. We trust you.” One week later, I had the green light.

The transition wasn’t easy, but I attribute that much more to the heavy work load (which exists in or out of the office) and trying to meet eighty people all at once and acclimating to a new city and lifestyle – rather than the actual working remotely. The world is changing, and at this stage in my career – I do the majority of my work on the computer. Difference being, with wifi and VPN and some serious discipline, I can do this by a pool in Cartagena or on a roof deck in Cordoba – rather than in a traditional office with very little sunlight and no fresh air.
 

What advice would you give to others considering Remote Year?

Stop telling me why you can’t. Stop telling me that your boss won’t let you. I understand that may actually be true, but right now – you haven’t asked. I’m speaking from firsthand experience when I say that I honestly didn’t expect my boss to say ‘yes.’ But they surprised me and have been more supportive than I ever dreamed. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Be bold, work hard, and run head first after the opportunities you long for. I don’t think you should ever expect to be handed things, but it literally won’t happen if you don’t at least try.

Oh, depends on the day. Within the perimeter of my “9 to 5” – I am designing, drafting, and modeling projects using 3D modeling and documenting software on my laptop. I am also project managing – coordinating with my clients, engineers and consultants. I spend a lot of time on the phone with different local jurisdictions, working through code requirements and permitting. And then I communicate with contractors/inspectors/building managers to moderate construction and see projects through to completion.

In my other life – I am trying to meet and invest well in people. I want to seek out and support inspiring, motivated people who are making a difference in their communities. My long term goals include immersing myself in human-centric, public interest and social design work. I think to be effective in that world, I need to understand both the real, root problems and also what the beautiful humans on this planet are already doing for good.

Lastly, I am sketching (pen and ink) and learning as much as possible. Sketching forces you to look at people – places – objects longer, and leads to a deeper and more beautiful understanding. I love photography, too, but it doesn’t have the same effect. If anything, if we aren’t careful, it can error on the side of not really seeing things at all. I make that mistake far too often.
 

What do you hope to achieve/gain by the end of Remote Year? 

I hope to have proven to myself and those skeptical back home that this lifestyle is possible. That it doesn’t have to be this thing that’s confined within 2017. That I’m not just getting it out of my system. That it’s a life that is available should you want it, should it be the right time for you. I also hope to be even more adaptable, empathetic, and open minded. I hope for my heart to be more broken for the world and hardships that people encounter in very different places each day.

What does your typical work day look like?

Ha, I don’t know what ‘typical’ means anymore. My goal the last couple of months has been to listen to my body and release myself from professional norms that demand we be somewhere at the same time every day. That said, I suppose I usually work 6-8 hours during the day, so I’m available to my clients, consultants and coworkers. Then, there’s usually an event or a run or a dinner or a nap to attend to. And if that doesn’t go too late, then I’ll cap the night with a few more hours of work.

Or sometimes I front load my hours in the first few days of the week – and I’ll take a long weekend to hike Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain. You, know, it really just depends.

I’m learning to be simultaneously diligent and adventurous – while being attentive to my needs.

I’m pretty sure it was gifted to me by God in my genetic make-up. It’s a biological necessity at this point.

But my family was always big into road trips and family vacations to beautiful places within the States and Canada growing up. I’m so grateful for that. Then I studied abroad in Italy with my architecture program my fourth year in college, which rocked my world. This led to an internship in India with a non-profit architecture and engineering organization that does work in the poorest parts of the world. The pairing of those two experiences opened my eyes to a whole other realm of possibilities. I couldn’t unlearn or unsee those places or those people. I was hooked.