Inspiring Women Summer 2018

Scotland: Successful Writing for the Digital Age
LILLIAN SMALL
Association of American Women of
Aberdeen, Scotland
From: Toronto, Canada
Lives: Aberdeen, Scotland
I was born and raised in Canada to Portuguese
immigrant parents. They taught me the value of
hard work, and throughout my schooling I was a
strong student. On a whim, I enrolled in university in
the Chemical Engineering program and did very
well; I then started on a good career path at a
large oil company. During university, I met my
husband and a few years after we graduated we
bought a house, moved in together, travelled a lot
together and got married. Then, in 2013, he was
offered a transfer to Paris, France, with his company
and thus our expat life began. I quit my job and with
little prospects of continuing my career in Paris, I
explored other interests, passions and career
options. Since then we have moved to Aberdeen, Scotland.
I clearly remember the day my mother gave me my first diary while in elementary school. I
always loved to read and write. Admittedly writing and reading got pushed to the wayside
when I was deep in my engineering studies. But even then I knew I had a skill for writing that
many of my engineering colleagues didn’t have. I started my first blog in 2007 to document my
6-month student exchange in Sydney, Australia. I loved recording every part of that trip and
sharing it with family and friends. So, when I moved to Paris, I started my current blog, The Smalls
Abroad, to document our life living abroad. It was through this blog that I began to think of what
my new career path could be. That prompted me to go back to university for a Masters in
Digital Marketing.
Today I write in my own personal
blog, and I write for my clients
(blog posts, social media posts,
podcast show notes) as part of my
services as a digital marketing
consultant (www.lilliansmall.com).
While in Paris I learned my third
language, French, and also
translated copy from French to
English. Most recently I was
awarded a spot on the Parfitt-
Pasco Writing Residency program
at the Families in Global Transition
Conference. After an 8-week
writing mentorship program, I
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