Introduction: How did I get here?

Early Tendencies

It's hard to determine where my road to the iSchool began; in fact, I didn't even realize I was on the road to librarianship until relatively recently. When I began my teaching career in 1992, I had earned BAs from The Evergreen State College, where I had studied Literature, and Western Washington University, where I picked up a degree in History along with my teaching credentials. After a couple of years teaching English and Social Studies in Seattle, I took advantage of the opportunity to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I spent over two years (1995-1997) teaching a variety of subjects in a small bilingual school and doing my best to master the Spanish language. Returning to the U.S., I continued teaching Social Studies, English and my new subject of Spanish. However, in addition to an interest in languages, I had also developed an interest in technology while living in South America--particularly in the potential of the Internet as an instructional tool. As the years passed, I spent more and more time initiating myself into the mysteries of computers and networks, and torn between opportunities to teach English, Social Studies, Spanish or Technology classes. If only I could just teach them all!

Time to Get Busy

Finally, around the beginning of 2002, I decided it was time to focus on a particular discipline and earn my Masters degree. Since I was living in Wenatchee, the program that made the most sense (and held the most interest for me) was the History MA program at Central Washington University. Grad school went well until the birth of my son Ian in March 2003, when priorities changed and the time required to make the round-trip commute to Ellensburg suddenly evaporated. Around this time I also had been spending more time toying with the idea of adding a Library Media endorsement to my certificate. I had been very inspired by a Big6™ workshop presented by Mike Eisenberg at the 2001 NCCE conference in Spokane, and as a result began spending much more time in the library with my students. One day (I believe in early 2003), Teri Fink, the teacher librarian at my high school (and Directed Fieldwork mentor), mentioned that I should check out a new distance program offered through the University of Washington. Shortly thereafter, I looked up information on the program and--no exaggeration here--I experienced a true personal and professional epiphany. After reviewing the iSchool dMLIS program information, I felt that I had finally found what I had been preparing for my entire academic and professional career. I had been a librarian all along--it just took me over a decade to figure it out.

Information Professional

The program has not disappointed. Not only have I found every aspect of it to be an exciting and challenging growth opportunity, it has also consistently complemented my work as a teacher, literacy specialist and technology resource specialist at Wenatchee High School. As a result, not only am I now a trained information professional, but I also am a much more effective teacher and leader within my professional community.

Special Thanks

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of my wife, Gretchen (she's been enrolled in this program as much as I) and the regular reality checks provided by my sons Ian (4 years) and Emerson (1 year). Additionally, I'd like to thank my iSchool colleagues, particularly Jay Lyman and Colin Rea, for helping me maintain my sense of humor and sanity on five hours of sleep or less.