A Little Bit About Me...

Hello!  My name is Christina Leukothea Golm. 

Let me introduce myself.

I am named after my Greek grandmother, Leukothea.  Leukothea is an ancient Greek name. “Leuko” is an ancient Greek word for “white”, and “thea” means “goddess” in Greek, so my name means “white goddess"


This is me above (just kidding!)

Grandmother & Granddaughter

   

 My grandmother Yiayia Leukothea loved listening to music, but radio stations in the United States never played the Greek music she loved.  One weekend, when I was taking care of her, I brought her a CD player and several Greek music CDs I borrowed from a public library.  These were new technologies for Yiayia, but she watched carefully as I taught her to use the player.  Tears of delight filled her smiling eyes as she realized that, with technology, she could forever after listen to her favorite music whenever she wanted.

That experience hooked me.  Helping open the world to people through new technologies is one of the greatest satisfactions I have ever known.  Many of my favorite work experiences –– at DePaul Library, Indiana University and Henika District Library –– involved coaching people in all ranges of computer skills to use information technologies A few of these people had limitations or disabilities that required a different teaching approach, or adaptive equipment and accommodations.  I’m confident that everyone can learn to access the information they need and want, but I do not yet know enough strategies to be successful in helping them.

       To learn to help others I began my education by earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis, Indiana (IUPUI) where I focused on English, Business and Music.  My academic experiences have focused on technology, teaching, research, writing grant applications, conducting surveys, and publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals.  While working at Community Mental Health (CMH) of Ottawa County in Michigan, I participated in community events and health fairs to promote wellness activities as well as assess CMH services, when needed.  I joined forces with people with mental health, developmental and cognitive disabilities to raise public awareness of the whole Disability culture.  Additionally, I would also like to learn how to help people who are blind, hearing impaired, or who have physical disabilities, effectively use information technologies.  

Which is why here at Wayne State University I am an ALFA fellow.  We believe in universal access, making library services accessible to all, including those with minor to major disabilities.  This group also includes the elderly, such as those who are slowly becoming disabled.

I bring to class my own creativity and talents.  I am a natural born teacher, being very outgoing and creative.  Some challenges that I face is that I sometimes have trouble focusing on tasks, especially writing.  With a great deal of hard work, I did well at IUPUI, achieving a 3.78 grade point average.  I was on the honor roll and finished a master’s level class in biostatistics with an “A-”.

My saving grace was Karen, a person with a mobility disability, who tutored me at the beginning of college.  She taught me time management, organization and writing skills.  Now it is my turn to pay it forward to others with disabilities, so they may learn and reach their full potential by accessing information.

 

Presently I strive to make library services accessible to all by working as a Customer Service Specialist at a public library called Henika District Library in Wayland, Michigan.  Henika was built in the late 1800s as a library, and has been a library ever since.  Working at a small library, one ends up doing a little of everything -- from processing books, to working with customers, to deciding if and how we should expand.  For example, I just took a grant-writing workshop to help find funds that would enable us to buy the building next door.

MY FUTURE GOALS

Once my LIS degree is completed, I hope to be a director of a library and work with fundraising and grant applications, in the hopes of making library services accessible to all.  In order to accomplish this task, I feel I have to work on grant writing, and am looking to improve those skills.  My long-term career goals include successfully seeing the United States and other countries such as France and Greece, two countries I lived in for three years, making library services accessible for all.

I WANT TO WORK WITH YOU!

I am looking forward to collaborating with you.  I love to write and collaborate with others, creating new knowledge.  It appears to me that a group is better than going solo.  I am looking forward to working with such a great professor and class, and together learning about each other and our illustrious field.  For more information about me please see my curriculum vitae.