"Success supposes endeavor." -Jane Austen
That is kind of my personal mantra... it means you can't succeed without trying... you can't win if you don't play... it just reminds me to push myself, to be fearless, and to always try my best.
As promised, I am now telling you...I am studying to be a librarian! I was accepted as a graduate student at the School of Information Resources and Library Sciences at the University of Arizona! I will be focusing my studies toward medical and university librarianship, because my professional experience in the medical world and internship in a university library will be crucial in finding a job after I am done with school.
My classes start in June when I get to go down to Tucson and stay for a week long introductory class on the U of A campus, and the rest of the program is completed online. I am really stoked about it- I will get to stay in a dorm on campus. Having completed college as an adult I didn't have the same 'college life' experience like you have as a kid right out of high school. (No Deltas, no togas- I still had to pay my bills, be a single mom, work full time, etc- I had a lot of responsibilities- I was already a 'grown up' when I started back to school). It is never too late to finish school, but it a lot of hard work (my favorite kind).
I have been fortunate enough to complete most of my education through online classes, allowing me to still work full time and not to take any time away from my kiddo (just giving me a crazed addiction to coffee and a lot of late nights). Every semester I did make it a point to take at least one class on campus in the interest of feeling some kind of connection to the college experience. All in all it was totally successful, I was able to participate in some really fun things- (like editing for the campus magazine and throwing a release party for the edition I worked on - so rad)
- - sorry, I digress- -
What I am saying is that I am grateful to have been able to make school work around my schedule, since I don't have the ability to work my schedule around school, you dig?
Taking classes online would not have been my first choice, but without it as a choice I wouldn't have been able to achieve what I have educationally. It's funny- as I work toward becoming a librarian it is the digital world that is changing my career path so drastically and will probably determine where I am employed when I am done with school. I like to think of my experience within the digital system as a total asset- because I have seen it both as a student (or user) and now I will see it as a professional.
For now I am preparing to start back to school, and still searching for scholarships. It will all work out. I also joined the CABL- the Central Arizona Biomedical Libraries association, and I get to go hang out with the librarian at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center next week. I have been told that developing a strong professional network within the world of libraries is crucial to professional development, so I am planting those seeds now - - - grow baby, grow.
I will use this blog as a resource while I am in school- posting about my experiences as a student along with all the other things going on in my life. I have checked out a couple of really awesome librarian blogs, Librarian by Day and Librarian Avengers being my favorites, and I kind of hope to follow in their footsteps...blogging about my life and my career while retaining my original blogging intentions. Those two blogs have been really inspirational to me while I have been researching the career path, and I hope to be equally as supportive. Maybe somebody out there is facing the same naysayers and pressures that I have had in making this decision and they need a friendly face? Well here I am fellow aspiring-librarians (and the people who love them), here to offer my experiences as support to you, and also inspire you to be environmentally aware and active with the kids in your life.
So here we go readers...t-minus 3 months and change until school starts.
