Ann Hallyburton: Research Librarian/Liaison to Health Professionals
By Adam Dries
A crooked path
Many believe college prepares us for a lifetime of success.
Perhaps that's true, but the journey may be a circuitous one.
The world of professional writing is very competitive. Jobs
come and go, and many in this field must change their original
direction in order to succeed. Each person must gain an edge
to excel against a large pond of competitors. No matter how
unlikely the path to success, its origins can be traced to
the plce where that skill was nurtured and began to grow.
For Ann Hallyburton, that place is Western Carolina University.
Hallyburton is a 1997 graduate from WCU with a degree in English.
She also holds a master’s degree in library science.
Hallyburton owes her current success to the start that she
got at Western Carolina University. The English Department
helped prepare her for the challenges that she would face
in the work force, where good writing skills are crucial to
success.
Working at her alma mater
Hallyburton has put her writing to work in her current job
as a research librarian/ liaison to health professionals.
Now she works at her alma mater, where she aids some of her
former colleagues.“I use writing in almost everything—from
composing emails to how-to guides, to helping edit professional
publications.”
Hallyburton has fallen in love with her job as a librarian.
She gets to make people laugh and help broaden their minds
every day through writing.
Hallyburton also owes a lot of this success to her mentor
at her first library job. “By her example, she made
me see that librarianship could be an art form and could truly
help people.”
Through each day of work all college graduates like Ann Hallyburton
can look back and thank the place where it all began. For
Hallyburton, it began as an English student at Western Carolina
University.
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