Anticipations before beginning school

I have had a busy couple of days.  It feels like I haven’t stopped moving since 7 am Thursday morning–not even long enough to check my email. 

  • From working all day Thursday,
  • to travelling to my parents for a day an a half,
  • to getting a call just as I was leaving that the library here at the university wants to interview me for a Reference Desk assistant position,
  • finding out there is only one day of interviews,
  • to getting up at 6 am, travelling back to Toronto, going to the interview, and returning by noon,
  • going to the much loved Winona Peach Festival, where I enjoyed luscious home made potato chips from a truck (possible the best snack I have ever had, I’m sure XY will blog about it later.),
  • having my brother take me all around Hamilton with XY on a nostalgia trip,
  • coming home finally at 12 am on Saturday morning to discover that I have received a scholarship from the Faculty of Information Studies, covering almost all of my tuition this year,
  • coming back to the city this morning and going right to work at 12 pm.

The award I received was the Florence Partridge Scholarship, bequeathed by the late head librarian at the University of Guelph to Toronto, where she did her library schooling. 

Ms. Partridge, a double graduate of the Faculty - Diploma in Librarianship ‘32 and Bachelor of Library Studies ‘39, worked as an academic librarian at the University of Guelph, culminating in a distinguished career as their Chief Librarian. She was also a tireless supporter of the arts, contributing significantly to the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre. This scholarship is awarded to a student with high academic standing.

I had to write a letter for the application, but I think I feel so much more grateful because of it. I’ve received small amounts of money in the past, but they were usually automatic, dependant on my GPA.  I think the fact that someone actually took the time to listen to my particular story, and that the money is coming from the estate of such a well respected woman, makes me appreciated it all the more.

The idea that, at the end of one’s career, that someone could reach back and give a wonderful hand to new librarians–it conveys a sense of community and idealism that I never experienced during my undergraduate degree, or even dealing with my brief flirtations with attending graduate school, while I was a member of the philosophy department.

From the beginnings of my first contact with the administration at FIS, to going into a meeting with the Assistant Dean to discuss my research and professional goals to today, I have never been made so welcome by anyone in education, even going back to when I was a child.

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