At work we said farewell to one of my co-workers the other day. I normally wouldn’t have posted anything about this but it is because of her in many ways that I’m perusing the career that I am today and where I am in generally. Some of you might know that I went to school at my work place. She started in my year nine and she was one of the most encouraging teachers I had. Well, she didn’t teach me per se but she was a teacher and I got to know her well through various things. She encouraged me to read, she allowed me to volunteer in the library which nurtured my love of books and libraries – I had wanted to be a librarian all of my life (well since I was 9 I think?). She, encouraged me and allowed me a lot of freedom truthfully and for that I will be forever thankful.

She was, from that time someone I respected and looked up too.

Then the day happened when I was walking into the station and she drove passed and offered me a job. Just like that we become co-workers and I’m incredibly thankful for that. Not only did I get a part time job but it gave me an opportunity to work at a school library where I’d only worked at a public library before then. I got to work directly underneath her and it was an amazing experience. I had seen the ‘public’ part of the school library but now I could seen the backend and the amount of work that she did between that and her classes was amazing.

Not only that but she was big on the whole e-learning part. I would sit in the library as they talked about using Google Docs and ebib and think ‘I really wish we were using this when I was a student’. It’s a well known secret that I find that sort of thing fascinating and think it has a LOT of potentional. If I don’t stick to librarires (or archives) I would love to work in e-learning, especially in a primary school.

The principal of the school recognised that and made her the head of e-learning and ICT which is a role she excelled at. What she did was amazing and continued to inspire me.

Yesterday we said farewell to her though as she moves on to another school. I’m going to miss her a lot. She is someone I look up too and respect greatly. She’s moving onto bigger and bette things though and I wish her luck no matter how odd it will be without her there. I owe her so much I and I wish her all the best.