The School of Information and Library Science graduate student, Kimberly Hirsh, has been selected as a protégée for the Young Adult Library Services Association's (YALSA) new mentoring program. YALSA, a division of the American Library Association, is specifically geared towards providing library and youth literacy services to teenagers.
The mentoring program pairs an experienced librarian with a new librarian or graduate student in a Library Science program. YALSA also provides participants with a handbook that includes monthly discussion topics and a suggested list of resources that mentors and protégés can use to develop their mentoring goals or jump start their mentoring conversations and activities. Hirsh expects a lot of surprises as she works with her mentor and with other protégés in this new program. "The relationship between the mentor and protégé is two-way, so I hope to help my mentor grow in the profession as much as she or he helps me," said Hirsch. "Together we'll set goals for the year and support each other in both challenging and triumphant moments.”
Hirsch received a Bachelor of Arts in Classics (Latin) and Dramatic Art from UNC, and then pursued a Master of Arts in Teaching at UNC's School of Education. For five years, she taught Latin at high schools across North Carolina as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. While she loved working with teenagers, she said she realized that her interests were too broad for her to be limited to teaching just one subject. As a middle or high school librarian, she looks forward to working with students and teachers across a variety of subject areas.
The program will run from January 2011 through December 2011. "I'm excited and honored to be one of the first people selected for the program,” said Hirsh.
