Aswithmostpeople,figuringoutwhatIwantedtodoinlifewasastruggleandeven

thoughIhadgottenmyBachelors,Istillfeltlostandunsatisfiedwiththedirectionmylifewas
taking.Untiloneday,Irandomlyacceptedajobatapubliclibraryasawaytobidmesome
time,whichwouldturnouttochangemylifeandmakemerealizemypurpose.Afterworking
thereforayearandinteractingwithteenpatronsonaneardailybasis,Irealizedthatbecominga
TeenLibrarianwasexactlywhatIwantedtobeinlifeandneededtostarttakingthenecessary
steps tofulfillthatdream.Beingateenagerisoneofthehardestthingsapersonwillever
experience,moresonowwiththeriseofsocialmediaandcyberbullying,soIwantedtobe
someonewhowouldserveasanadvocateforthemandmakethemfeelasthoughthelibraryisa
safe,welcomingplacetheycangotowithoutfearofjudgmentorfeelingisolatedfromtheworld.
IappliedtoDominicanUniversityhavingaclearideaofwhereIwantedtotakemyacademic
careerandwasthrilledtoseetheavailablecoursesthatwouldgetmetothatgoal,butwasalso
excitedtoseecoursesthatweregoingtochallengemeandpushmetobecomemorewell
rounded.
WhileatDominican,Ihavebeenfortunateenoughtonotonlygainnewknowledge,but
also take part in countless experiences that have shaped me to become better at my future
professionandchangewhoIamasaperson.FrommyLIS701:IntroductiontoLibraryand
InformationScienceclasswhereIlearnedthebasicsoflibrarianshipandtheimpactIntellectual
Freedomhadonme,tomyLIS721:LibraryMaterialsforChildrenclassthatshowedmehowto
write professional book reviews and annotations, and to my LIS 724: Media Services and
Productionclassthattaughtmenewtechnologiesandhowtomakebrochuresinordertobetter

servemypatronsneeds,theyallhadanimpact.Asawhole,alloftheseclassescontributedto
mylearningexperienceandhelpedmoldmeintothelibrarianIamtoday.
Courselearningwasnottheonlythingthatinfluencedme,butthewisdomandpersonal
experiencessharedwithusbymyprofessorsatDominicanhastoo.Havingprofessorsfrom
different backgrounds gave me a broader view of the librarian world and insight into how
differentprofessorshandleddifferentsituations,whichIwasthenabletocatertomyownwayof
doingthings.Onepieceofadvicethathasalwaysstuckwithmeishowtohandlesituationswhen
patronschallengeanitemonourlibrarysshelf.Dr.JaniceDelNegrospoketothisissueinmy
LIS722:LibraryMaterialsforYoungAdultsclasswhensheadvisedusthatthebestwayto
handlethatsituationistositdownwiththepatron,askthemwhatitisthatbotheredthemabout
theitem,thenrecommendsomethingelsemoreinlinewiththeirneeds.Thisisoneofthemost
invaluablepieces ofadvice Ihaveever beengiven andoneIhave putinto practice inmy
professionallife.
HavinginspiringguestspeakersisanotherexperiencethathasshapedmyGSLISlearning
experience.InmyLIS701:IntroductiontoLibraryandInformationScienceclasswehadaguest
speakerfromtheALAOfficeforIntellectualFreedomcomespeaktoourclassandsheservedas
myfirstintroductiontoIntellectualFreedom,censorship,andourgeneralobligationaslibrary
professionalstothecommitmentofthecorevaluesofLibraryandInformationScience.Even
thoughIhadworkedinalibraryfortwoyearsuptothispoint,Ihadnobackgroundknowledge
on any of this and it was a great history lesson that began my learning development and
understandingofwhyitiswedowhatwedo.InmyLIS770:ManagementofLibrariesand
InformationCenters,Dr.CrowleyinvitedPrairieTrailsPublicLibraryDirectorRuthE.Faklisto

comespeakwithusregardingwhatgoesintotheroleoflibrarydirectorandofferaglimpseinto
librarymanagement.Shealsospokeofherinvolvementwiththecommunityandtoldusacouple
ofveryinspiringstoriesthathavestayedwithmeandinfluencedhowIhandlemyjob.Shemade
mefeelasthoughIcouldchangetheworldandmakeadifferenceinpeopleslivesbecauseshe
did.Havingspeakerslikethemopenedmyeyestotherealimpactlibrariesandlibrarianscan
haveonacommunityandtheprofessionitself.
Regardlessofhowbigorsmallanassignment,Iamproudofeachandeveryassignment
completedduringmytimeatDominican,butacouplestandoutasbeingsomeofmybest.The
summerreadingmarketingprojectIcompletedformyLIS770:ManagementofLibrariesand
InformationCentersclassisoneIammostproudofbecauseitwasthefirstrealassignmentIhad
whereIneededtoutilizealltheskillsIhadlearneduptothatpointinordertofindprofessional
peerreviewed journals and articles from Dominican databases that supported my argument.
MasteryoftheseskillswasnecessarytocompletethisassignmentandonceIrealizedIwas
capableofdoingso,wasabletoapplyittomyotherclasses.Learningmoreaboutsummer
readingandmarketingtechniquesduringmyresearchgavemeabetterunderstandingofhowto
usethesetoolsandresourcestomyadvantageinordertodrawpatronsintothelibraryandget
them excited about summer reading. Through my marketing research I have been able to
successfullyapplyittosummerreadingatmyjobandtootherlibraryprograms.Ihavealways
knownofthevalueofmarketing,butbeingabletoseetheresultsisincredibleandallthehard
workIputintothisartifactisevidentofthat.
TheQRCodeprojectIdidformyLIS724:MediaServicesandProductionclassis
anotherartifactIamproudofandconsidersomeofmybestworkbecauseitisacollectivewhole

ofallthehardworkIhadputintotheGSLISprogramuptothatpoint.Itookinformationfrom
myCommunityAnalysisartifactforthesamecourseandexpandedonitinordertocomeup
withaprogramproposaltopresenttoanimaginarylibraryboard.Eventhoughwewerenot
givenabudget,IstillchosesomethinginexpensiveandeasytoimplementbecauseIwantedto
demonstratetotheboardhowgreatprogramideasthatwilldrawteensindonothavetocostan
armandaleg.Idevelopednumerousprogramanddisplayoptionsandinbothmypaperand
presentationexplainedindetailhowtoimplementthem.Also,usingdatabasestofindstatistics
tosupportQRCodesandtheirbenefitsfurtherhadmeutilizingskillsIhadlearnedintheGSLIS
program.Ihavesincebeenabletoimplementsomeofmydisplayideasatmyjobandhavehad
greatsuccesswiththem.ThissuccessonlyfurtherdemonstratesthatthehardworkIputintothis
projectpaidoffandmadethisartifactsomeofmybestwork.
ThemainthingIseereflectedinmyePortfolioandoneIhopeothersseeaswellisthe
factIamwillingtostepoutofmycomfortzoneandtakerisksinordertobecomeabetter
librarian.Iliketoviewmyselfassomeonewhoknowsenoughabouttechnologytoeducate
others,butthisprogrampushedmetolearnevenmoreandshowedmethatmaybeIdidntknow
asmuchasIthought.PriortocomingtoDominicanUniversityIhadneverheardofPrezi,so
whenIwasaskedtouseitformyLIS701:IntroductiontoLibraryandInformationScienceclass
formycounterpointpresentationartifactIwasbeyondnervous.Ididnotwanttodisappointmy
groupmembersorfeelasthoughIhadnotcontributedtothepresentation,soIwatchedweb
tutorialsandpushedmyselftolearnthisnewtechnology.EventhoughPreziisstillnotatoolI
amentirelycomfortableusing,IatleastknowIcannowuseitandwillbemoreinclinedtousing
itinthefuture.Myhopeistoonedayteachaclassonitatmyjobandteachpatronsafun,new

technology.MyLIS703:OrganizationofKnowledgeandLIS753:InternetFundamentalsand
Designfinalsdemonstratedmyabilitytolearnanewmediuminordertonavigate,curateand
createinformationacrossthespectrumofhumanrecordsfromlocaltoglobalcontexts.WhileI
maynotbeaskedtowritebibliographicrecords orfixingtheHTMLcodeformylibrarys
website,havingtheseskillsisinvaluableandshowsmyrangeasalibraryprofessional.Even
thoughmymainfocusistobeaTeenLibrarian,Ichallengedmyselfbytakingthesecourses
becauseIknewifIdidnotandtooktheeasywayout,Iwouldonlybehurtingmyselfandnotget
themostoutoftheGSLISprogram.
MyePortfolio is alsoa reflection of the hard work andsteps Ihave taken towards
becoming a Teen Librarian. Taking classes like LIS 724: Media Services and Production
demonstratesmydrivetolearnmoreaboutteenlibrarianshipandthetypesofthingsIneedtobe
doingtobetterservethatpopulation.IcurrentlyworkintheTeenServicesDepartmentofmy
libraryandmanyofthethingsIlearnedinthatclassIhavebeenabletosuccessfullyapplythere.
Aspreviouslymentioned,theQRCodeprojectisonethathasbeenimplementedandwasnot
difficulttodosinceIhadalreadylaidthegroundworkforitanddonetheresearch.Myresume
alsodemonstratesthestepsIhavetakentobecomingaTeenLibrarianthroughmypersonal
experiencesoutsideoftheclassroom.ThankstoDominicanUniversityIwasabletosecurean
internshipattheOakParkPublicLibraryoverseeingtheirTeenSummerVolunteerProgram,
which has benefitted me in countless ways. This opportunity not only gave me handson
experienceworkingwithteens,butalsosolidifiedthefactIwantedtoworkwithteensandwas
headeddowntherightcareerpath.Igainedhandsonknowledgetheclassroomcouldnotprovide
and learned valuable insight from both the librarians and teens themselves. As a collective

whole,myePortfolioreflectshowhardIhaveworkedtonotonlybettereducatemyselfinthe
libraryprofession,buttogrowasapersonandpushmyselftobethebestversionofmyselfI
couldbeinordertobetterservemycommunity.
Myperspectiveandrespectforthelibraryprofessionhasgrownsomuchsincethestart
oftheGSLISprogram.Fromthecourseworktotheprofessors,Ihavebeenchallengedlikenever
beforeandpushedtoproduceworkIneverthoughtIcould.IwilladmitthatgrowingupIwas
oneofthosepeoplewhodidnotrealizeallthehardworkallthelibrariansIgrewupwithputinto
theirworkandstepstakenacademicallytoobtaintheirdegree.Iamnotentirelysurewhereor
howthatdisconnectoccurred,butIthinkfromthelackofknowledgeastothescopeofwhat
librariansdoiswhyIneverthoughtitwassomethingIcouldbewhenIgrewup.Notuntilmany
yearslaterwhenIstartedasaPageatapubliclibraryandlearnedmoreaboutlibraries,did
thingsfinallyclickintoplaceandIrealizedwhatIwantedtodowithmylife.Sincethen,my
perspectiveofpubliclibrariesandinformationcentershaschangeddramaticallybecauseInow
seeeverythingthatgoesintorunningthem.Librariesarewelloiledmachinesthatservenotjust
theirownpopulation,butcountlessothersalloverthecountrybysendingitemsfromtheirown
collectiontopatronsinanotherstateforlittletonocharge.Theyprovidenumerousresources,
suchasGEDclasses,freeofchargeanddonotthinktwiceaboutit.Thetimeoflibrariesonly
offeringbooksisathinkofthepastandmorepeopleneedtobeeducatedonthat.
Notonlythat,butlibraryprofessionals,inmyeyes,aretheunsungheroeswhoputagreat
deal of effort into improving the community and changing lives, yet their efforts often go
unnoticed and have to constantly champion for their libraries. People are quick to dismiss
librariesandinformationcentersasancientrelicsandaresomeofthefirstplacespeoplelookto

whenfundingneedstobecut,soitisaconstantbattlelibraryprofessionalsfacedayinandday
out.Itisamazingtomehowmuchworkonelibrariancando,fromdevelopingandrunninga
programtotakingonandorderingforanentirecollection,thatIneverknewwashappening.
Theyareagroupofselflesspeopleandmyadmirationforthemandallthehardworktheydo
hasgrowntremendously.Hearingaboutallthechallengeslibrariesfaceandhowtheyhandle
themisinspiring.Thereissomuchthatgoesonbehindthescenesthepublicdoesnowknow
aboutanditishumblingtoseeitallcometogether.
NowthatIhavereachedtheendofmytimeatDominicanUniversity,IfeelasthoughI
cantakemycareeranywhereIwant.IwanttheskillsandresourcesIhavegainedthroughmy
courseworkatDominicantogetmeafulltimeTeenLibrarianpositionwhereIwouldbeableto
docommunityoutreach,providereferenceandreadersadvisoryhelp,assistteensindiscovering
theirpassions,andeducateothersonallalibraryhastooffer.IknowifIworkhardenoughand
continuetoembodytheskillsandprofessionalismIhavelearnedwhileattendingDominicans
GSLISprogram,Icansucceedinachievingthatdream.Iwanttoinspireothersthewaymy
professorshaveinspiredme.DecidingtobecomealibrarianisoneofthebestdecisionsIhave
evermadeandoneofthemostrewardingthingsIhavehadthepleasureofexperiencing.From
thefriendshipsIhavemadetoremarkableprofessorsIhavemet,thislastyearandahalfat
DominicanUniversityhasbeenthebestandonethathasmoldedmeintobecomingthelibrarian
andpersonIamtoday.