Libraries reach Beyond Expectations

The Libraries participated in the third-annual Beyond Expectations Career Fair in March at C.W. Stanford Middle School in Hillsborough. Founded in 2009, Beyond Expectations is a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring adolescents in Orange County. Young people in middle and high school meet people from a wide variety of careers at the fair, ranging from professional to technical. And the librarians, as it turns out, are among their favorites. Lisa Ruth, Hannah Rainey, Pete Schreiner, Jesse Lopez, Brooke Peters, and Mira Waller wowed students with a 3D printer, a Sphero robot, and VR headsets, showing off the NCSU Libraries’ high-tech side.

“We met lots of very curious kids, parents, organizers, and fellow presenters,” Ruth says. “The kids had prepared questions for us about our careers. Each of us described our very different roles and paths into librarianship. We talked about librarianship as a career as well as exposing them to what an academic library in the 21st century does and can do for them.”

“Several kids came up after to tell us we were their favorite of the day! Those lucky ones got to take home our completed demos from the 3D printer.”