Re: Where do we come from...

[Patricia Lee Wassink <wassinpl@UWEC.EDU>]

Ok, this has been fun, and I haven't read any like mine, so here goes....

Interesting to see how many of us expressed the love of reading...and not
much of that gets done on the job!

My mother was a teacher, and I grew up having NO desire to teach anyone
anything.  Got a BA in psychology with minors in sociology and math (NOT
in education!), was married, and did AFDC work in California for 3 1/2 years.

After my husband got his degree, I "retired" to motherhood (grew up with
the Good Housekeeping programming), but decided I wanted more.  By that
time a masters in social work would have required a 100 mile commute and
I wasn't that sure I wanted one...

So I went through vocational counseling and was somewhat astounded to
learn I should be an accountant, a computer programmer or a librarian!
Obviously the test was looking at people who were detail oriented and
concrete sequential in their thinking.  I took a grad level accounting
course, a comp programming course (Fortran), but the only library course
I could take initially was children's literature.  I had an absolutely
inspiring teacher (anyone know the whereabouts of MaryAnn McLaughlin or
Bauer?)...and it turned my life around.....I went on to get the MLS with
a heavy emphasis in children's lit and planned for a future in public
library children's work...

However, with my brand new MLS I ended up accompanying my husband who
took a job in Saudi Arabia!!  Luckily for me, the international school
was without a librarian and I was asked to take the job....the rest is
history...as so many of you say, "I loved it" and determined to continue
after getting back to the US.  At that time Wisconsin had a provision
whereby you could be certified by taking an approved educ. course of 18
credits if you already had an MLS.  I ended up needing 27 (remedial AV
stuff!) and have taken many since,  but I am extremely grateful that
"loophole" was there.  My psychology and social work background provided
the people skills to go with the need for detail work, and I love the
variety of my job!

Pat Wassink
Colfax Elementary School
601 University Ave.
Colfax, WI 54730
wassinpl@uwec.edu