The University Libraries awarded three scholarships to student employees for their outstanding contributions to the Libraries. Sarah Falor, Sarah Mominee and Ella Nelson have been selected to receive $1,000 scholarships to support their academic pursuits at Western.
Sarah Falor, food marketing major
Sarah Falor is pursuing a bachelor's degree in food marketing and works at Waldo Library's service desk.
Falor had just completed her first year at Western and found that working in Waldo Library offered the unique opportunity to make friends and meet people.
"It's cool to see all the people that come in with different majors and what they're studying," says Falor. "Everyone's coming from different places, but they're all coming into the library to work on what they need to do."
Working at the library, attending classes, and meeting new people have been an important part of Falor's college experience. The scholarship helps make college more affordable.
"I think school is very important. It teaches you a lot of things, so it's nice to have something that helps you go to school. Not just what you're studying, but how to interact with people and form good relationships," Falor says.
Sarah Mominee, biology major
Sarah Mominee is pursuing a bachelor's degree in biology and works at Waldo Library's service desk. In addition to learning what libraries do and how they help people, Mominee says that the communication, time-management and research skills gained on the job will benefit her career.
"Being able to learn how to manage my time efficiently when I'm doing individual projects will help me in the future with career-oriented stuff, especially in research, because a lot of that is solo," says Mominee.
"I like getting involved with community outreach at the library…because I know the library is a good place to study, but it also has a lot more resources that I think people aren't aware of," says Mominee.
Mominee is currently completing a fellowship studying water quality management at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute. She will be returning to complete her final year at WMU this fall.
Ella Nelson, public history major
Ella Nelson is working on a bachelor's degree in public history and works at the Zhang Legacy Collections Center. Nelson's work with archival and regional history collections inspired her in many ways—including her decision to change her major to public history.
"I was in the technical theater program as a costume designer, which I went into with the same goal that I still have now of working in a museum with clothing," says Nelson. "In an archive, it's totally different. There are no three-dimensional artifacts. It's a lot of just like paperwork and photographs and things like that. But that's still very essential."
Nelson noted that her work at Zhang connects with her interests in fashion and costume history and encourages her to explore these topics creatively.
"I feel like it's a great way to be kind of involved in the Kalamazoo community and surrounding areas as a student," says Nelson. "And I've really learned a lot more about the community through working with those collections, whether it's the history of certain buildings downtown from the 19th century and beyond or just regional events and things that have happened locally that are important."
"Whether it's at Waldo or Zhang, I feel the libraries really do serve as kind of a core for all of Western," says Nelson.
About the Library Student Employee Scholarship Fund
The Library Student Employee Scholarship Fund supports a competitive scholarship available to all student employees who work for the Libraries and grants up to four $1,000 awards each year.