[Chapters-l] Essay Winner: Kitty McClanahan

[Carter, Patricia Jean (LNG)]

SOASIST Student Scholarship Essay Competition Winner:  Kitty McClanahan

The Southern Ohio chapter of the American Society for Information Science &
Technology has selected Kitty McClanahan, a student in the College of
Communications & Information Studies at the University of Kentucky, as the
winner of the student scholarship essay competition.   The competition is
hoped to encourage students in Library and Information Science & Information
Studies programs to consider the benefits of participation in the activities
of professional societies.  All students enrolled in Library and Information
Science/Information Studies programs (who live in Ohio or Kentucky) were
eligible to enter.  Competitors were required to compose an essay addressing
the following question: "What specific benefits do I expect to derive from
attending the ASIST 2002 Annual Meeting?  and essays were judged "blindly"
by a panel of SOASIST members.  The winner receives reimbursement funding up
to $1000 for registration, airfare, food, and lodging expenses to attend
ASIST 2002: Information, Connections & Community
http://www.asis.org/Conferences/AM02/index.html  November 18-21, in
Philadelphia, PA and a one-year membership in ASIST.  

Established at the suggestion of Patricia Carter, Manager - LexisNexis
Technical Library and current Chair of SOASIST, this award was funded
entirely by LexisNexis in 2002.  This is another example of how LexisNexis
supports professional library and information science associations.  And
supporting students is a top priority with SOASIST, through programs
targeted at students, involvement in the student chapters, and by giving out
this award. 

Kitty's winning essay will be published in the upcoming issue of the
soasis&t ... on the move
(http://www.asis.org/Chapters/soasis/enews/index.html). Newsletter, and the
text of her essay follows here:

"SOASIST, with its characteristic generosity, has  posed an interesting
question:  "what specific benefits do I hope to gain by attending the 2002
ASIST National Meeting?"  This year's theme - "Information, Connections, and
Community" -- provides a natural framework for my answer, and a tidy
typology for the myriad motivations any student would have for aspiring to
attend this year's flagship event for our association. With all due credit
to the slogan committee, here are my expectations, shelved under the three
categories suggested by their motto:

The Information-related benefits I expect to gain from this event relate
directly to the presentations, sessions, and keynote speeches, and posters
that I will be able to experience at the Meeting. My studies have convinced
me that information science is a remarkably fast-evolving frontier, one that
is developing at a pace that races ahead of the usual publishing cycle, such
that conferences like this are a good place to hear about the latest in
scholarly  and practical content. Because of my particular areas of
interest, I am most interested in attending sessions related to medical
information and digital libraries, as well as ones pertaining to
globalization and the general state  of the discipline. 

Regarding Connections-related benefits, I would argue both for the obvious
career-enhancing relationship-building that such organizational meetings are
designed to produce, as well as an additional linkage to reach others who
won't be able to attend the Meeting in person this year. To experience the
former, I plan to make the acquaintance of as many attendees as I can, and
seek insights into their particular niches in the information profession.
Although I am not yet at a job-hunting stage, I hope to spend time at the
Placement Center to learn  about the priorities and needs of both the buyers
and sellers present at that "marketplace",  for future reference. In
addition, I see myself as providing a kind of vicarious point of connection
to the conference for non-attending student members. I will actively report
on what I learn and observe at the Meeting, and use my experience to promote
their  interest in attending future Meetings.  

In terms of Community-oriented benefits, I believe that students attending
the Meeting are even more fortunate than the professional attendees are! It
seems that an intrinsic cultural value of ASIST is to support and nurture
its student members, and this trait will be most evident at the National
Meeting. Full members are wonderful about reaching out to make students feel
welcome, including them in activities, and responding to students' specific
areas of interest. In particular, I plan to attend the Student Chapter
Advisor's meeting, the student member reception, the awards banquet, and a
number of SIG social functions, to enjoy the fellowship of other ASIST
members. These shared experiences will have a special significance to me, as
this Meeting marks the end of my time as chair of my university's student
chapter, and there is some slight chance that we might win a student chapter
award. Regardless of this outcome, I anticipate the pleasant feeling of
being a part of an accessible organization full of great people involved in
worthwhile activities.
 
My expectations about the Meeting are high, and I look forward to
experiencing the enlightenment of encountering cutting edge research, the
excitement of establishing new professional relationships, and the
satisfaction of  spending time with other members as "just people". This
event will undoubtedly fulfill its  promise to deliver  "Information,
Connections, and Community" to all who attend."
    
SOASIST would like to thank all of the students who submitted essays, and we
are hoping to hold the same competition in 2003. 

Patricia J. Carter
Manager - Technical Library
LexisNexis, B6/F1/Room 82
9595 Springboro Pike
Miamisburg, OH 45342
phone: (937) 865-6800 x56099
fax: (937) 865-1655 to my attention