Professional Goals Statement
Earning my MLIS degree and working as a School Media Specialist is paramount in allowing me to expand beyond the classroom so that I may serve an entire school population and its faculty and ultimately serve my community. My first goal as a teacher has been to foster a love of learning and desire of knowledge within my students and then to teach the skills that are necessary to independent inquiry and lifelong learning. I will continue this philosophy and practice as a school media specialist with a focus on lifelong literacy and community outreach.
The most influential factor in my decision to pursue the MLIS degree has been my career as an educator. My career has most definitely prepared me for a future as a media specialist. I have taught first through twelfth grade in several subject areas. I have taught special needs, at-risk, inclusion, mainstreamed, homogeneous grouped, heterogeneously grouped, regular track, college preparatory, and advanced placement students during my tenure as a classroom teacher. I have taught teachers and administrators the two years I was a performance-based learning consultant for Communities in Schools of Georgia. I have been able to work with foundations and community organizations that focus on creating dynamic programs that help students experience success, develop long-term goals, and teach the independence necessary to achieve their goals. I have spent a great deal of my career teaching integrated technology, creating curriculum for an equity in technological access class, and writing grants to fund technological programs. I believe more can be done in school media centers to serve all within a school population in order to foster literacy, spark curiosity, and assist in educational pursuits. In today’s information-based society, schools need media centers that are well-equipped and accessible to all and librarians that are knowledgeable, friendly, energetic, and dynamic in their goals for the population they serve. I will spend my career working towards these ideals.