Catch up with a Libraries student scholarship awardee: Lena Jin

The NC State University Libraries awards a number of part-scholarships every year to our outstanding Libraries student workers as part of our efforts to support student success and affordability. Since 2018, we've awarded 35 scholarships of varying amounts totaling $119,000. For the academic year 2022–23, philanthropic support for the Libraries Student Scholarship Fund has allowed us to support 10 of our talented students with scholarships worth $36,000 in total. This profile is one in a series that lets our scholarship winners tell their stories.

Lena Jin is a senior Psychology major who works in the Libraries’ Access Services department. Deeply committed to self-improvement, she found herself drawn to psychology after being a good listener and counselor to her friends, who frequently come to her to help them figure out what to do with the challenges they are facing.

What are your hobbies and activities outside of school?
My hobbies are building miniatures, pottery, and paper crafts. I recently started taking swimming lessons. Most activities I do outside of school are volunteering. I recently signed up to help build houses with Habitat for Humanity.

Why did you choose to work at the Libraries? What roles have libraries played in your life in general?
I went to the library near my high school almost every day after school. I love its environment—it’s quiet, cold in summer and warm in winter. It is really hard to stay focused at home, so I would go to the library to study. Because of that, I got good grades at school. This is why I wanted to work at the Libraries.

What have you been most looking forward to this school year?
I am looking forward to making new friends and connections. Also, I want to experience many new things that I couldn’t last year.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?
I am planning to go to graduate school to study developmental psychology. I recently found an interest in dentistry, so I might go to dental school. But, most likely, I will go to grad school.

What have you learned through your work at the Libraries? How does your work at the Libraries support or lead into your post-graduation plans?
Before working at the Libraries, I hated writing research papers, so I sometimes regretted choosing psychology as a major. I wanted to do counseling and not go into research fields. In my job scanning requested articles at the Libraries, I have to look at the title of the research article to check to see if I am scanning the right one. Many requested articles are psychology research papers, so I found many interesting articles that I was scanning. After looking at some psychology research articles, I decided not to put a limit on my career path in psychology to just counseling.

How will a Libraries scholarship help you on your educational/personal path? Is there anything specific that the scholarship will enable or help you to do?
My educational path is going to graduate school which requires outstanding grades and money to attend. This scholarship will allow me to work less at the part-time job I have other than my Libraries job because it covers the cost of attendance. I can save up my pay for the tuition and have more time to study.

Learn more about the Libraries Student Scholarship Endowment here, and donate directly here.