2014 Romanow Scholarship Recipients

About the Stella and Rose Romanow Endowed Scholarship Fund for Excellence in Library Sciences.

Heather Assenmacher

Senior | Language Arts, Spanish

Personal Bio:

Heather Assenmacher is an Elementary Education and Language Arts double major with a focus on literacy and an additional minor in Spanish. Heather works three jobs, two of which are in Halle Library. Along with being a member of the Honors College with a 3.86 G.P.A., Heather volunteers for multiple organizations, including being a coordinator of VISION’s Pen Pal program and tutoring children at a local homeless shelter. Heather enjoys spending her free time with her family, especially her father.

Quote from Heather:

"Focusing on literacy in my classroom will incorporate the use of libraries, and if I can show my students the beauty of the library, then libraries will hold a special place in their hearts for the rest of their lives. … With the aid of the Romanow Scholarship, I will be able to take all of the courses I need in order to more effectively provide my students with a love of literacy and institutions of literacy."

Why Heather was chosen:

The screening committee recognized Heather's academic excellence and potential to influence literacy and reading achievements in her volunteer work and in her professional role as an elementary teacher.

Angela Elkordy

Doctoral Candidate | Educational Leadership

Personal Bio:

Angela Elkordy is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership with an Instructional Technology cognate. A career long K-20 educator, Angela has significant experience with educational leadership, libraries (academic, special and school), school administration, innovation diffusion, and instructional technologies. Angela is a scholar-practitioner and enjoys collaborating with others through presentations and publications. This year, presentations have included "Digital Badges for Higher Education," and "Getting Started with Digital Badges." Angela has also published in state and national journals on the topic of digital badges.

Quote from Angela:

"My goals for potential funding are to complete both my doctoral research and dissertation. … Through the publication of my work, institutions of informal learning, most importantly libraries, will be able to shape program offerings informed by the findings of my research."

Why Angela was chosen:

The screening committee was thrilled to have a strong application from a librarian returning for further graduate work -- one of the hopes of Rose Romanow in establishing the scholarship.

Micala Evans

Doctoral Candidate | Educational Studies

Personal Bio:

Micala Evans is pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Studies with a concentration in Urban Education. She has a strong passion for knowledge and access to it, and desire to change the world. She works to serve her home community, Idlewild, and other urban and rural communities. Trained as a community sociologist, she specializes in schools, society, and violence, and believes that formal or informal education is the course to build social capital and thriving communities. She is a library activist who believes that libraries are great democratic public spaces and catalysts for knowledge that promote all forms of education.

Quote from Micala:

"[M]ore awareness and activism needs to be done around the issues that libraries are facing in today's changing political arena. … If awarded this scholarship, I will be able to fund my tuition and continue to research and advocate for public libraries to continue to serve their communities."

Why Micala was chosen:

The screening committee was impressed by Micala's commitment to saving the public library in her historic African-American community and by her research on the role of libraries in communities.

Jieron Robinson

Senior | Communications, Business Management

Personal Bio:

Jieron M Robinson is a senior majoring in Communications at EMU and hopes to also complete a minor in Business Management. He has been a part of the EMU Library family as a student assistant for the last 3 years. “The library is like home to me,” Jieron says. When asked about what first drew him to EMU, he said he loved the diversity EMU has to offer. He also cited his bosses in the library for guiding him this past year: “The staff and librarians here at EMU Library are so supportive and encouraging.” When Jieron graduates next year, he is considering multiple graduate school paths which include library school, in hopes of going into library administration.

Quote from Jieron

"My only goal in life is to go to bed knowing that I made a positive difference in each and every person that I encountered. … I aspire to be a [librarian] in an academic setting so I may get the joys of helping others."

Why Jieron was chosen:

The screening committee noted Jieron's passion for his work in Halle Library and his interest in a future career in library leadership.

Sarah Williams

Junior | Language Literature Writing

Personal Bio:

Sarah Williams is from Birch Run, MI. She is currently a junior at EMU majoring in Language Literature Writing, minoring in Computer Information Systems. She plans to pursue a Library Science master's degree after graduation. She works in Halle Library at the Information/Reference Desk and in the Academic Projects Center. She enjoys reading and fishing in her spare time.

Quote from Sarah:

"At the library I work directory with students and staff to provide them with the best customers service I can. My passion for knowledge and education is the reason I want to be a librarian, and this scholarship funding would help me achieve my goals."

Why Sarah was chosen:

The screening committee was confident that Sarah will use the knowledge gained in her double major, as well as the experience gained at Halle Library, to excel in a library science masters program.