By A.R. Heier\/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hood College is home to many distinguished, knowledgeable, and credible faculty and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One such person is archivist and collection development librarian Mary Atwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born in Connecticut, Atwell grew up in Silver Spring. She received a bachelor\u2019s degree in history from Ithaca College and her master\u2019s in library and information sciences from Drexel University. Luck and good fortune brought her to Hood College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atwell said she inherited her interest in history from her father but didn\u2019t know what to do with her history degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atwell ended up working in the accounting office at Marriott headquarters for 16 years, but it was not what she wanted. Atwell described the job as \u201csoul-sucking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She decided to return to school to study library science, but she dropped out to raise her family. After staying with her kids for a while, she landed a job in the Maryland room at the downtown Frederick library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During this time, she was able to pursue her master\u2019s degree at Drexel University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eight years ago, Atwell found the Hood archivist job on INALJ, I Need a Library Job. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be luckier,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each week she answers questions from staff, faculty, and public patrons. She is writing an article about Hood\u2019s history for the school\u2019s alumni magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atwell hopes to compile information regarding Indigenous people in the region but said she is disturbed by how much systemic erasure there is, which makes research very difficult. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to implement more educational programming here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has a 24-year-old daughter and 22-year-old twin sons. Some of her interests include kayaking, hiking, researching and cats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atwell is not only a fountain of information but also wise. She wants students to know that \u201csometimes life gets in the way, but it doesn\u2019t mean that everything is over and there\u2019s always time to go back to your dreams.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"