After graduating from Portland State with a BS in Sociology, I set out to make the world a better place by entering the social services.  But a year and a half of working with adults with disabilities – first as a support specialist and then as an alternatives to employment / art program coordinator – wore me out quickly; changing adult diapers and mediating physical altercations was exhausting and not as spiritually fulfilling as one might think.  It took me about two seconds to realize that librarianship was my calling.  A few months later, I was hurriedly studying for those hellish GREs and gearing up to attend Emporia State University’s SLIM program here in Portland, Oregon.

I found that library studies was not just an entrance into a profession, but something I truly felt passionate about. I quickly latched on to issues that I felt close to, such as emerging technologies, information literacy instruction, copyright, and serving under-served populations (especially young adults and the LGBTQ community). Landing a library assistant position at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (where I still work to this day), I threw myself into the library community head-first, going to as many conferences as I could, taking on volunteer and leadership opportunities, and joining social library groups.

I am an optimist and a go-getter, and believe that even on a short budget, I can accomplish almost anything I set my mind to. I love instruction, reference, and web technologies, and you can currently find me weekdays in the library at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and Saturdays at the Mt. Hood Community College reference desk.

This website is a portfolio of my studies at Emporia as well as the professional work I have done in the library community. I hope you are able to learn a little more about me and how in love I am with being a librarian.

*Oh, and I’ll try to update the picture on this site periodically to reflect what book I am currently in love with…