I didn’t grow up dreaming of being a university research librarian someday.  But now that I have, it seems like it was inevitable. Even though I didn’t plan out my career, I have arrived at the perfect job for me. I think it happened because I stayed true to my interests and values, and was open to unexpected opportunities that allowed me to live them out. In retrospect, there were always big clues about where I would end up.

For example, during my last three years as a college student, I had a work study job at the Information Desk of the library. It never crossed my mind to make a career of it. I was always interested in science and art and thought at the time that I would become an illustrator of children’s books even though I majored in biology. It’s hard to make a living doing that right away, so I had to come up with an interim plan. I went to library school at Drexel for their K-12 school library program so I could be around children’s books while working on my illustrations. Meanwhile, I worked my way through Drexel as an assistant to the Science Librarian. Looking back at it, that was also a big clue as to where my career would ultimately take me. I then became a public middle school librarian in Delaware County for ten years. While doing that, I learned that my personality was better suited for teaching and other extroverted activities, rather than spending a lot of alone time working on book illustrations. I did start a middle school cartoon club, though. After nearly a decade of connecting middle schoolers with materials that cultivated their emerging interests, I had to acknowledge that my interest in science was getting stronger and stronger. I decided to change careers and went to Penn to get a Ph.D. in geology.

 

Walt answering interview questions to help a student with a project.

I became a paleontologist specializing in a particular chapter of the story of life on Earth. That’s when I first came to WCU twenty years ago as an adjunct professor in what is now the Earth & Space Sciences Department. There was a two year limit in those days on how long temporary professors could stick around, so I tried finding a permanent geology faculty position here and elsewhere. After a little while not having much success with that, I was told by one of the WCU librarians that I first met back in my Drexel library student days (Trish Lenkowski) that WCU needed a new Science Librarian. Fortunately, I got the job, and have enjoyed being in the position ever since. It’s a job in which I can bring all of my previous education and experience to bear in helping connect members of the WCU community with the knowledge that they need.

Walt helping a student at the Research Help Desk.