Kent State Awards Full Scholarships to Five Future Librarians

Kent State University's School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) recently awarded full-tuition scholarships to five graduate students to work toward a master's degree.

The students include Maryanne Becka Haller of Strongsville, Ohio; Steven Kemple of Cincinnati, Ohio; Jennifer Camarati Mille of Brunswick, Ohio; Maria Trivisonno of Lyndhurst, Ohio; and Maria Vega of Sidney, Ohio. Each received a Laura Bush 21st Century "Youth Services, Librarians, and Museums—A New Vision of Learning" scholarship funded by the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in Washington, D.C.

The "New Vision" scholarship covers the cost of tuition up to 36 credit hours and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., as part of a special topics class. Recipients will pursue coursework that includes an emphasis on the use of museums with children and young adults. They must pledge to work as a librarian, either in a public library or as a librarian in a museum, archives, historical society or other cultural institution, after receiving their M.L.I.S. degree.

Dr. Carolyn S. Brodie, Dr. Greg Byerly and Dr. Yin Zhang, grant co-directors and faculty in Kent State's library and information science program, said the pool of candidates for this award was highly competitive, and that each recipient should be extremely proud of this accomplishment.

Maryann Becka Haller holds a Bachelor of Arts from Notre Dame College of Ohio and a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University College of Law. After practicing law for several years, Haller took time off to raise her family and seek a career where she could have a direct impact on helping children reach their full potential. Since 2004, she has worked in the children's section of the Parma Heights branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

Steven Kemple received a BFA in painting from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. His experience working with youth at the St. Bernard branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and the staff who served as role models, inspired him to specialize in youth services. As a librarian who is also a visual artist, Kemple hopes to foster inter-institutional collaboration between cultural organizations, especially between libraries and museums.

Jennifer Camarati Mille has an undergraduate degree in early childhood education from Mount Union College. She said her teaching background greatly prepared her for working in a public library children's department. She is currently employed at Brunswick Library.

Maria Trivisonno started her career at Cuyahoga County Public Library at the age of 16, paging at the Mayfield Branch after years of attending programs there. She paged through high school and her four years at John Carroll University, where she ranked first in her majors of English and communications. She continued to sub at Mayfield while working as a communications assistant and then came back to normal paging hours while working as a line and segment producer for WKYC-Channel 3's Golden Opportunities. In 2007, she was hired as a part-time Children's Public Service Assistant at the Brecksville Branch and joined the Maple Heights Branch's Children's Department full-time in August 2008.

Maria Vega has worked as an archaeologist, a teacher and a librarian. She has an undergraduate degree in anthropology and comparative literature from the University of Michigan. She completed field work in archaeology in Guatemala and Mexico, studying ancient Maya sites. After gaining her master's degree in secondary education from Wayne State University, she taught middle school and high school English and social studies in Detroit, along with teacher preparation courses at the college level. She is currently in charge of the Information Department and Teen Programming at the Piqua Public Library.

Kent State's School of Library and Information Science offers the only Master of Library and Information Science degree program in Ohio that is accredited by the American Library Association. The school is recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation's top 20 graduate schools and is one of the largest library schools in the country, with more than 700 students enrolled.