Isabella Kessler - The Stars at KLIC: Journey Story of our Staff

 

By Isabella Kessler

For most of my education, I've been much more concerned with surviving than thinking far into the future. As a child, I struggled specifically with reading - I couldn't read until the 2nd grade, and was the last to come around in my class. I used to think to myself, "Why would anyone read and write for fun? It's so hard!" A couple years later, I had the highest Accelerated Reading score in class and a blossoming affinity for creative writing.

I found myself auditioning for the Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, which allowed my to nurture my growing passion for writing while taking Honors and AP high school courses. When it came time to start thinking about post-high school plans, CCA encouraged us to use Free Application day to apply to any colleges that caught our eye, and began hosting visits for representatives of different schools in the region. One of which was Berea College, most notable to the high school senior for the fact that it does not charge its students tuition. No, really! Although their acceptance rate was low (12% in 2022), I figured there was no harm in applying, and four years later, I sit before you as a proud Berea Alum and the first in my family with a Bachelor's degree.

I went into Berea with a very vague inkling of what I wanted to do for a degree, let alone a career. I ended up on the Communication track for its flexibility, and discovered my deep love of Media Analysis (I attended the Southern States Communication Association's Undergraduate Honors Conference twice with papers that focused on some of my favorite works of fiction). Alongside my courses, I also had to opportunity to work as a Technical Services Librarian at Berea's Hutchins Library, and by the time of graduation, the answer to the career question has become so clear: libraries! Of course I want to work in libraries! So many different aspects of research and community come together to make an academic library such as Chatt State's. Also, there's nothing better than getting to be around books all day.

Chatt State allows its students so many opportunities when it comes to professional development and career-building. Study abroad, participate in campus workshops, befriend your instructors, be a work study - the #1 thing I was most grateful for after graduation was having work experience under my belt. You never know where you'll discover something that can change your life forever, so always be open to opportunity.

Not So Frequently Asked Questions with Isabella Kessler

Isabella Kessler

Isabella Kessler is one of our new library assistants on the Public Services team. Our library assistants help out with the library's service desk and much more! Let's learn a little bit about Isabella in this Not So Frequently Asked Questions interview.

1. Something you hope to accomplish by the end of the year?
Publication! I graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication from Berea College this past May, and my senior capstone project ended up winning the Southern States Communication Association's Franklin Shirley award for top undergraduate Communication paper. The number one thing I heard at their Undergraduate Honors Conference was "publish, publish, publish", so I'm looking for an academic journal that my paper can call home. Outside of literary magazines, I've never published my work before, so I'm nervous but excited for this new opportunity!

2. What inspired you to want to work in a library?
I've been a reader since elementary school, which is funny, because I couldn't actually read until the second grade - I was the last in my class to get the hang of it. At that age, I struggled so much with reading and writing that I couldn't fathom why anyone would willingly do these things, and now look at me - all I do for work, school, and fun is read and write! Also, I'm weirdly into cataloguing. I love making spreadsheets and categorizing things. It turns out this is a great quality to have if you work in a library, which I learned at my first library job in Berea's Hutchins Library, where I worked in Technical Services. Truly, I love everything about libraries. They act as a calming space for many, myself included, hubs of knowledge and resources, staffed by people who are truly passionate about things like research and historical preservation. There's so much our Kolwyck Library offers, even if you're not the biggest reader. (If you're wanting to get into reading, though, come find me and ask for recommendations. I read just about everything, from literary to nonfiction to manga to fantasy. I bet I can think up something to your tastes.)

3. What was your least favorite class in college?
Surprising no one, math. Every day that "math homework" isn't on my list of things to do, I wake up feeling grateful.

4. Do you have any pets?
Just one - a cat named Snowball. My family's had many cats throughout the years, but Snowball is the queen regnant of the house at the moment.

5. Coke or Pepsi?
Neither. My parents didn't let me drink soda as a kid, so I never developed a taste for it. Honestly, I'm not sure I know what either tastes like... my favorite drinks are whole milk, herbal green tea, and oreo milkshakes.

6. What was the last job you had before coming to ChattState?
While I worked in the library for most my time at Berea, in the months right before graduation, I was offered a Teaching Assistant position from my favorite professor - the only one I would have seriously considered TA'ing for, if I'm being honest. It was an undergraduate film class - right up my alley, because the focus of my major was in media studies, as was the topic of my senior capstone, which I had just finished writing at the time. I didn't think I was cut out for the whole lecturing thing, just the grading and feedback part, but my professor pushed me to teach a few classes, which I found to be incredibly rewarding.

7. What’s your favorite holiday?
Halloween. I love absolutely everything about it. Costumes, decorations, scary movies, giving out candy...

8. What’s your favorite Halloween costume you wore as a child?
Does middle school count? In 8th grade I dressed as Roxy Lalonde from Homestuck to the Halloween dance, and felt very proud of myself every time someone asked, "What are you supposed to be?" Yes, I was that kid.

9. Spring, Summer, Winter, or Fall?
Fall. Cuddle season, no bugs, pumpkin patches, hot choco, Autumn leaves, reading books in hammocks, just cold enough for a sweater or two - gosh, I can't wait! :)

10. What was the last book you read?
Rachel Koller Croft's Stone Cold Fox. I love novels about calculated, manipulative women who know how to play the game. Anything psychological that gets all twisted up in someone's brain - sign me up.