Library ambassadors: written by Yujin Chung

Hey! This is Yujin Chung, and I'm in my second year of Public Health, Applied Health Science. This is my first term being a Library Ambassador. I’m so excited to be part of this fascinating team this term! When I received the email that I got the job, I freaked out! Not in a bad way, but in a good way! The whole situation seems so unrealistic to me that I thought that perhaps Mary Lynne (our lovely supervisor/leader) had sent a message to the wrong candidate!

I first decided to apply to be a Library Ambassador because it is the LIBRARY. Even back in high school, I enjoyed going to the library and spending time there because of the unique atmosphere. As a result, my love toward the library got bigger after I came to the University of Waterloo, the library became my SECOND HOME! I literally spent the majority of my first year in the library (especially Dana Porter). Not only did I study in the library, but also to just chill around in the sofa area. Therefore, my interest being a Library Ambassador actually got bigger and bigger, and I started searching up about previous Library Ambassador’s experiences by looking at the blog posts. 

After reading some of the blog posts, I wanted to become a Library Ambassador more than anything else, because it had all the aspects I dreamed about in my university life. Some of the blog posts talked about  meeting a fantastic group of people and how being a Library Ambassador has improved their problem solving and communication skills. There was one keyword that I saw in every one of their blog posts, time management. I was always curious how students were able to time-manage all the tasks that they have and be able to complete them. I wanted to be one of those students who are able to do everything at the right time. Therefore, I applied. As a result, everything that previous Library Ambassadors said was CORRECT.

I’ve been a Library Ambassador for a few months now, and I realized there are more varied tasks than what I thought. Before I got involved, I thought that the tasks of the Library Ambassadors was simply advertising the Library. However, this job includes a term project with a team of Ambassadors. Often, the tasks in my job overlapped with my assignments and tests. However, I was able to complete the tasks on time, and then I realized that I’m ABLE TO MANAGE TIME better than what I thought that could do. I personally think my time management skills have improved most when my fellow Ambassadors and I were planning for the term project together. Our project happened during Thrive Week to promote library resources to reduce stress. As this project is starting from the scratch, there were many tasks that we needed to accomplish, and time management was the key. We set priorities to able to design the event and get our proposal in on time. I believe that during this time, my time management skill improved tremendously. 

I’m so glad that I’m able to work in the library with such amazing people because I was able to improve and learn many things through this experience. I really did develop a lot through this experience.

Lastly, If you see me in the library, don’t be shy and just come to me and say hi or ask me any question about the Library Ambassador program if you have one! Hope to see you :)

-Yujin