Stephanie Dawson Everett was recently awarded two significant national scholarships towards the completion of a Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree.
The American Library Association (ALA) selected Stephanie as a 2015-2016 Spectrum Scholar awarding her with a one-year, non-renewable award of $5,000 in scholarship funds and reserving $1,500 for her participation in ALA and the 2016 Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. She was designated as the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Scholar in this year’s Spectrum cohort.
She was also selected as an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) 2015-17 Diversity Scholar. This honor provides a financial award of up to $10,000 towards tuition and expenses to attend the 2016 ARL Leadership Institute Symposium held in Boston. Additional award benefits include a site visit to a sponsored research library, $2,500 for professional development, and a student membership in a professional organization.
Both scholarships seek to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse professionals in the field of library and information science to best position libraries at the core of today’s culturally diverse communities. Selections were made based on the applicant’s commitment to diversity, commitment to entering the library profession, demonstrated community outreach, academic ability and achievements, and leadership potential.
Stephanie is currently pursuing the Library Management track at Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science. She expects to complete her MLIS in the fall of 2016.