91´«Ã½

Marissa Guidara's Journey......

After almost ten years of working as a “fauxbrarian” (a paraprofessional), I was nervous about taking the leap into my MLIS studies. Winning a Bound to Stay Bound scholarship not only provided me with financial assistance on this new journey, it also gave me a ton of confidence. It served as an acknowledgment that my experiences and ideas from the past decade were valid and laudable. As a result, I grew from feeling as though I was someone whose work was insignificant to seeing myself as a potential library leader. I took this new confidence with me into my studies at Valdosta State University, pursued opportunities through 91´«Ã½, and even published my research. Today, I work as the district library youth services consultant for Berks County Public Libraries (Pennsylvania), where I try to inspire that same confidence in the librarians I work with that the scholarship provided for me.