Macon State College MVPs is a web feature that profiles notable students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Family: “Kevin Haywood is my map-maker and boat-builder husband. We have two dogs, Lucky and Ginger, who love the off-leash dog park, and two cats, Slash and Piglet. (Athough we call Piglet ‘Faux Dog’ because she likes to go for walks with us and the dogs.)”

Job Title: Assistant librarian.

Degrees: Master of science in library and information studies from Florida State University; bachelor of science in interdisciplinary social sciences from Florida State University.

Year she joined the Macon State staff: 2000.

What she does on the job: “A whole lot of stuff! But mainly: answer reference questions for library patrons including students, staff, and faculty; collection development (reviewing & buying books and other materials for the Library’s collection); teach Library instruction sessions; hire and manage Library student workers; and create Library displays.”

One thing people don’t know about Macon State is … “How beautiful this campus is. I’ve visited many college campuses in the United States and not many of them are as pretty as this one. I try never to be in such a hurry that I forget to look around me and notice the beautiful flowering trees and plants that are lovingly maintained by the hardworking grounds crew. And my day doesn’t start when I enter the Library building to start work. It begins when I get out of my car in the parking lot in the mornings and I glance around to see what’s blooming that day. So when the Mother’s Day tornadoes struck our campus in 2008 I cried real tears for the loss of so many beautiful trees. Our campus was forever changed that day but the employees of Macon State College have worked hard to restore our destroyed grounds to beautiful botanical gardens again.”

One thing people don’t know about her is … ”It took me nine years to get my undergraduate degree. Yep, I was having so much fun the first couple of semesters I was in college years ago that I probably didn’t study as much as I should have. Eventually I wasn’t invited back! After a couple of years working full-time I woke up one day and decided that I didn’t want to work retail for the rest of my life. I went back to school part-time. I continued to work full-time, so it took me a total of nine years from start to finish to graduate with my bachelor’s degree. So now, when I find myself working with non-traditional students in the Library, ones who are struggling with new technology, I tell them I know just how they feel. I was in their shoes once. And now I have a master’s degree so if I can do it, they can, too.”

What she likes to do in her spare time is … ”Craft. I make lots of different crafty things including stuffed ‘creatures.’ But my main craft is knitting. I taught myself to knit when I was sixteen and I’ve been doing it ever since. Very recently I’ve taken up gardening and am in the process of eradicating as much grass in my yard as possible and replacing it with flower beds. Oh, and of course, I read. A lot. I usually have at least three books going at one time: an audio book in the car, a fiction book by the bed, and a nonfiction book in the sitting room.”

The one person she’d most like to meet is … “Golda Meir. She was the most amazing political female leader of our time.”

What she likes best about working at Macon State is … ”Teaching Library instruction sessions. I love it! Often I only get a chance to have a quick, one-hour session with a group of students. In that short time I try to impress upon them the need to learn advanced, online searching skills and how to sort out the good information from the bad. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a lot of glazed over faces suddenly light up and nod when they finally realize that becoming a top-notch searcher could lead them to life long success and, yes, even possibly help them make more money!”