jennifer zimny: librarian at large
What a long and strange journey it has been. One minute, I'm teaching drama, directing plays and musicals, holding acting workshops, taking kids on multiple field trips, and trying to balance my own personal adventures into my craft of acting and singing and then next. . . .BAM! I'm sitting in my vice principal's office discussing with her the possibility of taking over the library next year in a major career shift. As my VP looked over her desk at me, she said with a somewhat pleading tone, "Is there any program out there you might be able to start before the end of this school year?"
Fast forward one full year later, here I am at the end of my journey having made the switch over to the library and finishing up that program my VP asked me to look into one year ago.
As much as I loved my former position, I knew the truth. I couldn't do it forever. I knew it nine years ago when I started the position. I couldn't keep up the kind of pace I was going for the rest of my life. In this new position, it is the perfect balance. I am still teaching, I'm still engaged in the same student population I love, I'm exploring different passions of my life, and I feel like this is a position I could easily stay in and love for the next 20 years or so and feel full satisfaction in my career and the balance I have now struck between my professional and personal life.
This electronic portfolio is a compilation of the last year of my life as I have grown in my professional life and gained a wider breadth of knowledge and experience that I will use for many years to come in my new professional endeavors. However, one of the most important things I have gained from this program is knowing that a librarian's work is never done! I will continue to grow professionally as I grow my library, technology changes, student population changes, and I change.
Fast forward one full year later, here I am at the end of my journey having made the switch over to the library and finishing up that program my VP asked me to look into one year ago.
As much as I loved my former position, I knew the truth. I couldn't do it forever. I knew it nine years ago when I started the position. I couldn't keep up the kind of pace I was going for the rest of my life. In this new position, it is the perfect balance. I am still teaching, I'm still engaged in the same student population I love, I'm exploring different passions of my life, and I feel like this is a position I could easily stay in and love for the next 20 years or so and feel full satisfaction in my career and the balance I have now struck between my professional and personal life.
This electronic portfolio is a compilation of the last year of my life as I have grown in my professional life and gained a wider breadth of knowledge and experience that I will use for many years to come in my new professional endeavors. However, one of the most important things I have gained from this program is knowing that a librarian's work is never done! I will continue to grow professionally as I grow my library, technology changes, student population changes, and I change.