2022 VLA Scholarship Recipients Announced

The VLA Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the 2022 scholarship recipients.  Congratulations to Christine Forbes, Megan Goldfarb, and Erica Gudiño on their academic excellence and dedication to librarianship in Virginia!  They each receive $3000 from VLA to help with costs associated with their education.  All three will be honored at the Annual Awards and Scholarship Banquet at the VLA Conference in Norfolk in October.

The 2022 recipient of the Clara M. Stanley VLA Professional Associates Forum Scholarship is Christine Forbes of Winchester, Virginia. Christine has worked for Shenandoah University’s Smith Library since 2019 where she started as a Library Assistant and was promoted to Circulation Supervisor in 2020. Christine is currently pursuing an MLIS at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she serves as Secretary for the School of Information Studies’s American Library Association (ALA) student chapter. 

In her essay, Christine stated, “What I’ve learned is no matter the type of library you work for, public or academic, the library’s mission is to serve its community to the best of its abilities. And I love that.” The Scholarship Committee was impressed by Christine’s many initiatives during her decade of experience in both public and academic libraries in order to serve her community to the best of her abilities.  From improving library spaces and services to forming new partnerships with community organizations, Christine has demonstrated the variety of skills and leadership that she will continue to contribute to the profession. As one of her references pointed out, “She’s balanced a busy job, two young children, and graduate school during a pandemic…and I have no doubt that she’ll complete her program at the head of her class.”  With her GPA currently 4.0, she’s well on her way.

Megan Goldfarb of Richmond, Virginia is a recipient of the 2022 VLA Scholarship.  She will begin the MLIS program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Fall. Megan works as a Collections Specialist at Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries. 

One of Megan’s reference letters assured the Scholarship Committee that “scholarship money spent on Megan is certainly money well spent for the profession,” and it is easy to see why.  Megan’s past as an artist has influenced her future in librarianship with a focus on cataloging and metadata.  The Scholarship Committee was impressed by Megan’s vision for her career.  She stated, “While I see cataloging as one way to engage with the artistic production of creators in the community, I recognize the interconnected and collaborative nature of library work…my interests lie in the intersections between deep engagement with materials and the research and artistic production of the academic community. I see the direction of my professional library career as not only wanting to continue to improve the accessibility of resources for researchers, but to improve libraries’ support of communities whose work might otherwise not be archived.”

Erica Gudiño of Norfolk, Virginia is the final recipient of the 2022 VLA Scholarship, and she begins her MLIS program this Fall. Erica works as a Library Assistant at the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library’s Peabody Special Collections at Hampton University.

One major factor in determining our scholarship recipients is “evidence of a commitment to a career in librarianship in Virginia,” and Erica fits that description perfectly.  In her lifetime, she’s lived in three different regions of Virginia and states her personal goal of having lived in each region eventually.  Geography aside, the Scholarship Committee was impressed with Erica’s commitment to a career in librarianship. Her past in non-profit work has primed her for her future as a self-described “community-centered and user-focused” librarian, which she has demonstrated through her many initiatives at work.  From organizing community-outreach with Spanish speakers to persevering Virginia’s complex history for access, it is easy to see why one recommendation letter noted Erica’s potential is so great.

VLA has been providing scholarships to students pursuing their Master's Degrees in Library and Information Sciences for nearly 30 years. Support this program with a tax-deductible donation today!