I can’t remember a time I didn’t love books. They provided me with a sanctuary where I could find my voice and learn without the pressure of having to talk. Being a shy child, it took me a long time to articulate my feelings, and by the time I found the words, it often felt like the moment to respond had passed.
I still feel this way but have learned to shelve those witty responses in my mental library under Dewy Decimal 130 or Library of Congress BC100s for easy retrieval. If you think I’ve said something clever, know that I thought of it two years ago and have been waiting for an opportunity to pull out that zinger.
I am an excellent learner, but I’ve but I’ve never been a straight A (or B or C) student. One of my least favorite classes in high school was English. It seemed like I was the only one in the room who didn’t have the answers during discussions. The significance of the red sock on the floor or the cryptic words of the old-timey character in a classic novel was always over my head.
I was not at all excited to take English classes when I became a student at K-State. Based on my high school experience, I expected to once again be forced to read books that meant nothing to me and not know the significance of anything. I was so very wrong. Each English class I took was small, and the instructors showed genuine care for my learning and well-being. Unlike my high school, I found that there were no wrong answers. My ability to critically analyze texts and present well-supported arguments was what mattered. This opened up a world of possibilities to me and inspired me to change my major to English Lit.
My English degree combined with a Master of Library and Information Studies helped me to become a super librarian! In the 20 years I’ve been a librarian, I’ve held a lot of jobs including: resident librarian, life science librarian, web services librarian, and now the Program Services Coordinator.
In my current role, I work with K-Staters and the community in the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab. In the lab, I have the pleasure of helping people bring their ideas to life through innovative and traditional technologies.
Tara Coleman in the stacks at Hale Library
Additionally, for the past ten years, I have coordinated the K-State First Book program. Our motto is, “A campus on the same page,” and we work to identify a book that will help provide our first-year students with an engaging shared experience over a book.
Tara Coleman with Angie Thomas, author of the 2018 K-State First Book selection The Hate You Give, and Mariya Vaughan (MA ’11), Assistant Director of K-State First (April 2019)
My English classes introduced me to new ideas, taught me how to think critically, and helped improve my writing without making me feel dumb for not knowing all the rules. They also taught me how to articulate why you may need to throw the grammar rules out the window and speak with your authentic voice, even if it does not comply with the conventions taught in high school. I’m grateful for everything I learned and hope to pay it forward to others.
— Tara Coleman (BA ’02)
K-State English 