Good Talk: Ms. Smith

Rachel Schaelchlin, Reporter

Have you ever worked in a library before NASH?

No, I have never worked in a library before I started here. I have only worked at NASH for a year and a half.

How long have you worked here at NA?

Well, I’ve been working at North Allegheny for four and a half years, but I started as a special ed assistant here at NASH. Then I got the job in the library.

How did you start working here?

After my children grew up, I went back to look for a job and needed something but didn’t want to go back to KDKA television because it was a very high-stress job. A lot of my friends worked in the district, so they told me to try for a job at the Senior High. As I said before, I started as a special ed assistant, and then, later on, got this job. I tried it, and I love it.

Do you plan on staying here longer?

I do. I really like it here, I really like the kids, and to be honest I need to work because my husband is self-employed, so I carry the health benefits and they’re really good here. I am so glad I landed here, and it is really nice to work with Ms. Wienand.

What is your favorite part of working in a high school library?

Oh, you goofy kids. I love getting to know the kids a little bit, which is hard because they don’t come in and stay at the sign-in desk very long. They usually come in, I check them in, and they leave to their seats. But yeah, I like to converse a lot. I am used to talking to your age groups because I have a twenty-year-old son. So, it’s nice even though he’s at college I get that fun youth, young attitude, at work.

What is your least favorite part of working in a high school library?

People who don’t follow the rules.

When you were little, what was your dream job?

Oh, I wanted to be a rock star, for sure. It didn’t work out because I can’t sing or play an instrument. But I did work in television. That was my real career.

Have you always wanted to work in a library?

Here’s a funny story: a friend of mine used to say I wish I could work in a library, and at that time I thought, are you kidding me, that would be the last thing I would want to do! But, honestly I love it.

What did you major in, in college?

I went to Clarion and I majored in Communications. After that, I worked for KDKA television for seventeen years, and then I left that job to raise my children.

Do you enjoy a certain genre of literature over another? 

Yes, I love mystery novels. I really like comedy, too, so when a mystery novel has a bit of comedy thrown in, I love it.