Graduation Thank Yous and reflection

It's been a long journey but this morning, I graduated a Master of Library Science from Syracuse University. I want to thank all of the people who helped me get to where I am today.
Thank you to my parents and friends who supported me throughout the years. You listened to me drawl on about what librarianship truly means and grapple with coursework. Mom was right from the start when she said I was going to be a librarian when I grew up.
Thank you to my professors for training me and encouraging my growth and development as an information professional. To Dave Lankes, for inspiring me to attend the iSchool with his worldview of new librarianship. To Marilyn Arnone, for sparking my creativity and supporting me throughout my time at Syracuse. To Ruth Small and Renee Franklin Hill for expanding my horizons to new ideas in the field. To Barb Stripling, for inspiring me to be the best school librarian I can be. To Blythe Bennett, my advisor, who always answered my numerous questions, supported, and inspired me throughout the past two years. You have all had a profound effect on my graduate career and I would not be where I am today without you.
Thank you to my internship supervisors who allowed me to learn new skills outside of my school media placements which could be applied to my librarian skill set: Theresa Slosek of the Public Computing Center, Terie Daino of the Oswego Bookmobile, and Barbara Shaffer, Chris Hebblethwaite, and Deborah Curry of Penfield Library, SUNY Oswego. I learned valuable lessons working in different library environments which I will carry with me to my professional career.
Thank you to the librarians and teachers of the Fulton City School District-especially Sarah Fay, Barbara Senecal, Wendy Scalfaro, and Terry Bettis. I learned so much from each of you during my fieldwork and practica placements as you took me under your wing and shared your best tips for teaching and managing a library media center. I especially thank Terry Bettis, my mentor, for her constant encouragement and guidance as I begin my professional career.
Thank you to my cohort; the students I began this wild ride with in the summer and fall of 2011. We have been there for each other since day one, forged strong bonds across vast distances, supported each other through coursework, job searching, personal successes and troubling times, and everything in between. I do hope we keep in touch and continue to grow together as colleagues.
What an amazing journey this has been! I have learned so much along the way and there's still so much to learn as I begin my first professional position. As Dave Lankes said, don't wait. The time is now to change the world!
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Upcoming conference-VITA Learn

Courtesy of my new principal, I am attending the VITA-Learn Conference in Burlington in a couple weeks. (Thank you sir!) It's a great conference focusing on technology education. The Vermont School Library Association plays a role in the conference as well so I will be meeting some of my new colleagues. I will be attending with the school's media specialist and we hope to start planning for next year. I think we will be a great team because we both have a lot of great ideas to transform the library. It was interesting to hear her perspective on librarianship and the school library too. I look forward to learning about the state book awards and new ideas I can bring to the library!
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