Autobiography
I am currently completing my Masters of School Library
Media at the University of Georgia. It
has been a long time since Iwas in school and it was a little scary to start a
new chapter in my life as I pursued this degree.
I graduated from high school in 1975 from Glynn Academy in Brunswick,
Georgia. From there I continued my
education at Brunswick Junior College while living at home.
I was determined to complete my four-year degree, which I did at Georgia
Southern College. When I graduated from Georgia Southern, I accepted a job with
the Coastal Resource Division of the Georgia Department of Natural resources.
It was great fun to wear a swimsuit to work and spend the day out on a
research boat. From this technician position, I interviewed and was chosen to
manage the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Sanctuary program, which allowed me
the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and work with many teachers and
school students visiting the island. This
was the first opportunity I had to collaborate with teachers in providing an
exciting and educational experience for school students. On a daily basis
I worked with school groups, kindergarten through college level, conducting day
long activities in the coastal environments.
I married in 1981 and in 1985 had my first child. That year we moved to the north Georgia area where I obtained a job with an Atlanta construction company as a payroll and accounts payable clerk. My second child was born in 1988 and third in 1990. At this time my husband and I made the decision for me to stay at home with my children. In 1993 I had the opportunity to work in the Dawson County school system in the counseling department of the middle and high school. I assisted one of the counselors in developing an adventure based counseling program. In this program we worked with groups of students on a weekly basis conducting activity based counseling experiences. We constructed a high and low elements ropes course in a wooded area adjacent to the school campus and worked with many counseling groups in this setting. The Niyelo program was expanded into other north Georgia counties and the headquarter offices moved to Hall County. I made the decision not to move with the offices due to the fact that I had three young children who needed me close to home. I worked part time for a couple of years with the middle school counselor on the ropes course and also began volunteering in the elementary school. My children loved having me in their school and I really enjoyed helping the teachers and students. In addition to assisting in the classroom I was elected as PTO finance officer for two years. As my children moved from the elementary school to the middle school I began volunteering in the middle school media center. After my first year of working as a volunteer in the media center, I knew this was where I was meant to be. By the third year of working at least one day a week in the media center, I was comfortable helping students with research, operating the automated circulation system and many other activities of the media center. When the media specialist approached me with the idea to go back to school to get my certification as a school library media specialist, I knew this was what I wanted to do. I have been a volunteer in the media center for five years now and enjoy working with the media specialist, students and teachers.
Goals and Objectives
Now that my children are almost grown, I feel that I can focus my efforts on my future. Since I have had such a wonderful experience working and volunteering in the school system, I knew this was where I wanted to eventually work. The media center is the place that I know I can make a difference with students. I have seen how several media centers operate and have learned from very creative and knowledgeable media specialists. One of my life goals in the area of a career is to obtain a position in a media center and develop a fun, supportive, and creative program that encourages students to explore their world through a variety of media and teach students to be self motivated in their learning and reading endeavors. From all that I have experienced in school settings and in the wonderful experience I have had pursuing my master's degree, I feel confident that I can gain the support of administration and faculty in creating a well-rounded enjoyable media center program.
When I began the Master's program, even though I had a great deal of knowledge from my previous media center experience, I knew there was a lot that I didn't know. Boy, was there a lot that I didn't know! The program of study that I followed throughout this Master's degree program has provided me with much of the skills and knowledge that I need to be the best Media Specialist I can be. I have learned that the roles I will take on as a media specialist are varied and very important in developing a well rounded media center program. As a teacher I have gained knowledge in teaching students the skills to access, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources and ways to adapt teaching methods to meet the needs of the individual students. As an instructional partner I have gained confidence in developing lessons and working with other teachers to provide learning experiences. As information specialist I have developed skills in selecting and evaluating information resources in a wide variety of formats. Finally, as a program administrator, I feel confident that I can work with administrators to develop program policies for a strong media center program. I realize what I have learned while in the Master's degree program is the scaffold of my education and the building of my knowledge will rely on the experiences I will have while working in the position of media specialist. I look forward to the journey as I grow and learn as a media specialist and know that my education will never end.
