You may have tangible wealth untold:

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be-

I had a Mother who read to me.

Strickland Gillian “The Reading Mother”

from Best Loved Poems of the American People

I have much to be thankful for, and it is all based on the values I learned as a child: reading, growing, and serving. I look forward to serving my local school community as a media specialist. My desire is to be professionally trained to provide quality media and information services for the staff and students of a Gwinnett County elementary school.

Becoming a fixture at the bookmobile and library as a youngster, working as a student in the library at Baylor University, and volunteering in our elementary school media center as a parent, I have consistently involved myself in learning, books, and children. My first career, which required my Masters Degree in Psychology, focused on helping people through mental health services. I then chose to concentrate on the care and training of our two children. As they grew and attended elementary school, I read with kindergarteners, lead Junior Great Books groups, and volunteered in the media center. In the past four years I have managed summer school media services and held positions of staff substitute and paraprofessional. Overall, my experience includes classroom management, curriculum teaching, creative learning activities, Literacy Collaborative training, and administrative assistance. I feel these learning experiences provide a good foundation for building a career as a media specialist.

I believe the media center is an integral support of the school’s learning community. Not only does the media program support teachers and the curriculum, it also equips students to learn and grow throughout life. With research-based learning and access to multiple resources, students of all learning styles can go beyond traditional textbook learning. In addition to supporting students as they develop as readers, the school media center should provide students a place to “find, analyze, evaluate, interpret, and communicate information and ideas” (GCPS Dept. of Media and Information Services, 2003). I know these are the skills our students need to thrive in an increasingly information-based culture.