TURBOTVILLE - Samantha Kern, a junior at Warrior Run High School, received a "Who Me? A School Librarian?" award during the awards breakfast of the 39th Pennsylvania School Librarians Association conference held April 12 to 14 in Hershey.
Kern was one of two winners throughout Pennsylvania in the PSLA essay contest "Who Me? A School Librarian?" where she addressed: "The best thing about my school library is ..." and "The one thing I would change about my school library is ...".
Her prize was the opportunity to attend the conference with PSLA picking up registration and accommodation fees. She was accompanied to Hershey by Jessica Oberlin, Warrior Run High School librarian. Susan Hefley, librarian for the Moniteau School District, presented certificates to Kern.
"I was surprised that I got the award out of all students who entered. I wanted to enter the contest because I have an interest in becoming a librarian in the future," Kern said.
Kern, the daughter of Christopher Kern and Kay Kern, attended workshops and general sessions, the conference banquet, the presidential reception and also networked with many professionals in the field that she hopes to enter in the future.
"I attended a session about using iPads in schools and also a session about new and upcoming young adult books. I loved hearing about new books I'd like to read,' Kern said. "It was fun, interactive and I even received many free books. I also benefited from the fact that there were college representatives whom I could speak with. It gave me a good start on researching for my career."
The keynote speaker for the conference was Pam Berger, who spoke on the topic, "Embracing the Future: Literacy, Inquiry and Technology."
