The Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) Scholarship and Awards Committee announced the following Travel Grant and Scholarship Award recipients during the ALA Annual Conference 2013 in Chicago:
Travel Grant Recipient: Linda Nguyễn
I’m a 2013 MLIS graduate from St. Catherine University and 2011 Spectrum Scholar of the American Library Association. I currently work as a Communications Associate at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and am a Zine Collection intern at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College Library. My professional interests include transformative social justice, cultural production & preservation, and multiliteracies.
Scholarship Award Recipient: Christina Nhek
My name is Christina Nhek and I am pursuing a Master’s of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I have a bachelor’s degree in Art History from California State University, Long Beach. My areas of interest are in archives and public librarianship. Perhaps one of the most important influences that have shaped the person I am today is my upbringing in a bicultural environment. As a child of refugee parents, access to resources were limited, mainly due to the lack of knowledge about available information. Growing up, my parents have always placed a great emphasis on education. Although our economical situation was limited, my parents believed that through hard work and sacrifice, I would be able to achieve success in anything I chose to do. One of the reasons why I want to pursue a degree in the Library Science field is to promote the importance of Khmer cultural awareness within the community. I want to help people find resources to develop their personal and educational growth. I believe in helping to enrich and educate the younger generations by providing good library resources to help their future endeavors.