Update From a Scholarship Winner

This week, we have a guest post from Christina Karvounis, winner of one of the HVLA scholarships this past year:

After having been in the classroom for over 10 years in a variety of capacities, I was ready to specialize and pursue a Master’s Degree. But in what? I had so many interests: MFA in Creative Writing, Reading Specialist, even Social Work. Libarianship has always been on my radar – even being my de facto ‘If you could be anything what would you be?’ answer. But it never truly seemed realistic. Libraries face cutbacks all the time. Books face challenges from their digital cousins daily. Librarians love their jobs and openings rarely become available.  

But a pivotal conversation while volunteering in my sons’ school library two years ago changed all that. I was shelving books and having a grand old time, when it struck me: I could be in a school library all day. I could pursue librarianship. On that day, it was none other than HVLA members Kathy Hartzler and Angie Ungaro who cheered me on and gave me the confidence to say, “Yes! I can!” 

I am just over the half-way point in my degree now, and hope to graduate in May of 2014. I am so excited and so gratified because, in addition to this, I was hired this past Spring to join Kathy in the BFS Pre/Lower School Library. My dream truly has come true.

With the HVLA Scholarship, I will be able to do something that would have been impossible without it: attend my very first AASL Conference in November. I will attend two preconference workshops and the independent school networking evening, in addition to standard conference offerings. This would not have been possible without the scholarship. I look forward to sharing the experience with HVLA via blog posts!

Thank you HVLA!
Christina Karvounis