This is my second go round in Graduate School, I have previously recieved a MA from the University of Cincinnati. My major focus was in contemporary Eastern European history, specifically the Balkans, and my minor focus was in comparative Women's Studies. The culmination of my MA program was a 30 page paper examining the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovinia in the early 1990's and what (if any) role ideas of gender (specifically notions of masculinity and manliness) played in the perpetuation of these attacks. So basically for about six months I was very embarrassed and resentful of the fact I was a man and other men.

I also received my BA from the University of Cincinnati and it was in History as well. My undergraduate concentration was in Middle Eastern history with a focus on Arab-Israeli affairs. While an undegraduate I was involved with the Model Arab League (which is similar to the Model UN). While my BA is in History, my first two years of college I was in art school and was a painting major.

My reason for pursuing my degree in Library Science was pretty simple. At the time I applied I was going three years experience of working in a library in some form or fashion and loved the work--however to advance myself any further' in the field I needed my degree. So I applied to a bunch of schools and ultimately chose UK. I currently work in the Mary R Schiff Library at the Cincinnati Art Museum where my official title is Library Assistant but in reality I am the Reference Librarian. After I complete my degree I plan to pursue a career back in the public library system, which is where I got my start and made me want to become a librarian in the first place.