Skip to Main Content
Today's Hours:

Whittemore Library Blog

Bittersweet Endings: My Library Internship in Retrospect

by Weronika Zawora on 2025-05-12T16:21:00-04:00 | 0 Comments

By Keila Santa '25

A young white woman with long black hair wearing a dark red top and a white zip-up jacket, sitting in a car seat and smiling at the camera

If you don’t know me already, my name is Keila and I am a senior English major here at FSU with a concentration in writing. This semester, I had the privilege of working as an intern for Student Engagement Coordinator Weronika Zawora at the Henry Whittemore Library.

Working at the library during my finals months before graduation was a transformative experience that has left me feeling extra bittersweet. I was able to gain new skills, step out of my comfort zone, and get more involved on campus than I ever have!

As a full-time student with a pretty lengthy commute, my goal is usually to organize my weekly schedule so that I have to come to campus as little as possible for the sake of convenience. However, since my main tasks as an intern have been writing for the blog and creating content for the Instagram, I found myself feeling excited that I actually had a reason to stick around some days—whether it was to go to an event, or to record some footage for a reel. And in addition to these explorations, I’ve been able to make new friends and strengthen connections along the way.

As my final weeks of being a student come to an end, I find myself getting asked that one question by peers, colleagues, and professors that gives me a little bit of the spooks: “So, what’s next?”

You know the drill. No matter how we answer this question, we are young people in a hectic world with voices left and right telling us that either (1) “everything will work out, don’t worry about it”, or (2) “with this job market, good luck!” So I’m here to be completely honest with you about my answer—I’m not totally sure what’s next… and that’s okay! I tell you this because I think that if you are a student feeling unsure about what you want to do post-grad, working at the library is one of the best places you could go to get a diverse range of experience that can be applied to almost any other position. Because of this opportunity, I’m leaving with a variety of new and improved skills, a portfolio of projects, and a great asset to my resume.

As I think about what has stuck with me from the many speakers I’ve gotten to listen to this semester, I remember the library career panel I attended at the start of April, and the discussion panelists had about the vital role libraries play in society. Libraries are pillars in our communities—they are one of the few expectation-less third spaces left in many towns, offering services and tools that are uniquely free and accessible.​​ This, in a nutshell, is why I have come to appreciate them so much, and why I’m so happy to have been able to play a small part in this big mission over the past few months.

Thank you to all the library faculty and staff that have been so kind and helpful in this experience, and a special thank you to Weronika for mentoring me and sharing all of her tips and encouragement as I transition toward these next steps.

To bittersweet endings, and new beginnings!


 Add a Comment

0 Comments.

  Subscribe



Enter your e-mail address to receive notifications of new posts by e-mail.


  Archive



  Follow Us



  Facebook
  Twitter
  Instagram
  Return to Blog
This post is closed for further discussion.