“I'm the oldest of seven—and I was even before the other kids were born. I was a Chatty Kathy—my parents had to find me in restaurants because I joined other tables. My dad was a high school math teacher. So education was in my realm and it felt like I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I went to college, got certified as an English high school teacher, and got my first job at a high school (…) Oddly enough, the librarian (…) was absent a lot, and I was in her space a lot. I was like, ‘Wait a second. This place is awesome!’ So I went back to grad school and became a certified school librarian and found my niche.”
“I had this wonderful experience at a school (…) where I was just K to 2. The principal was this loving, nurturing person. I had all these ideas. I was like, ‘Can I turn the library into a castle for a month?’ And he was like, ‘Go for it.’ He really was a big reason as to why I became who I am. He just let me go, and that was awesome. Then we moved [away] for a few years to help some family and I didn't work. Then I came back [to this area] and I hopped around a little. I was at a school in [one district] and I taught there for a bunch of years. I was the elementary school librarian in [another district] very close to here, and then I got laid off.”
“At that point the job that was available was a 7 through 12 building, which I was terrified of because I was like, ‘High schoolers are never going to be able to handle me and my puppets and my costumes.’ It turns out that they are just bigger kids. I don't wear the costumes as much and I don't bring the puppets in as much, but I do a lot of other nonsense. So that's what led me here.”
“I've been here for ten years as a Grade 7 through 12 librarian.”