As a recipient of the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW) Scholarship, I had the pleasure of participating in the 12th Annual Leadership Symposium. The leadership symposium took place January 7th-10th in Boston, Massachusetts this year. It was designed to address relevant topics surrounding the ARL and to provide the IRDW scholars with career networking opportunities. Since the symposium takes place in the same location and during the same time as the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting, we had the benefit of networking with many library directors within the ARL.

The best part of the symposium, for me, was the last day when I was able to meet with a library director who had previously reviewed a copy of my resume, and get feedback on how to improve my resume so that it is ready to submit for library and information positions. This provided a great opportunity for me to get a clear idea of the skills that I want to acquire while completing my MLIS, in order to get the type of position I am looking for.

We even had the pleasure of keeping company with our own Dean of Libraries, Dean Yee.

Besides having the pleasure of attending the symposium, the IRDW scholarship recipients receive:
• A stipend of up to $10,000 distributed over two years to help defray the cost of graduate school education
• A hosted visit to an ARL research library to learn more about the advanced operations of a research library;
• Mentoring from an ARL librarian or an alumnus of either ARL's Leadership and Career Development Program or the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce;
• Paid membership in a major professional association or in one of the American Library Association's five ethnic caucuses; and an additional $2,500 per person in support of one-time training and skills development.

This scholarship really seeks to promote diversity within the field of library and information science. I encourage everyone to apply for this scholarship.

To apply, visit: http://www.arl.org/leadership-recruitment/diversity-recruitment/initiative-to-recruit-a-diverse-workforce-irdw

If you need assistance filling out the application or if you have any questions about this scholarship, please feel free to contact me!

LaTeesa James
Diversity & Outreach Graduate Student Assistant
Wayne State University
School of Library Information Science
E-mail: av0928@wayne.edu
Phone: (313) 577-1825