Meet Chantelle Swaren, our new Assessment and Outreach Librarian.
Prior to joining UTC, Chantelle held the position of Senior Marketing Consultant for the Edmonton Public Library. Before entering the wonderful world of libraries, she worked in the private sector in a variety of product management, sales, and marketing roles. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Alberta and an M.L.I.S. from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!).
The UTC Library is dedicated to serving the academic and campus community, and Chantelle will do her best to make sure students, faculty, staff and community members are able to succeed. Chantelle is eager to work with stakeholders (that means you!) and find ways the Library can help accomplish your goals.
And now – we present the last of our four “10 Questions” segment, where we introduce our new librarians:
01. What’s the last thing you do before leaving work every day?
“The Humpty Dance” – it’s the fastest (and funnest!) way to switch from work mode to personal mode.
02. If you had the power to save the life of any fictional literary character, who would you save?
Quick question first: Do I have to say “spoiler alert” if the book was written 35+ years ago?
It would be a hard choice – I would either save Old Dan (and therefore Little Ann too) in Where the Red Fern Grows, or I would fix the rope swing in Bridge to Terabithia so that I could save Leslie.
03. You’ve invented time travel. Who is the first person you go jet skiing with?
The 1961 New York Yankees after they won the series. They earned the chance to let off some steam and enjoy a day on the water.
04. What musical genre would you use as an instrument of torture?
Me performing karaoke. It would be the worst kind of torture, because the people who’ve heard it have had to pretend they liked it – that’s enough to cause psychological damage.
05. What question irritates you the most during a job interview?
“Where will you be in 5 years” because… how do they know I’ve invented time travel? Who spilled the beans? Did one of the Yankees mention it in his memoirs?
06. Fastest you’ve ever gone over the speed limit without being caught?
If you mean while driving a vehicle, then I’ve gone really really really far over the speed limit without getting caught – but only because it was a life-or-death emergency. I do NOT recommend it; it’s not worth the risks and it usually doesn’t end up saving time anyway.
If you mean when walking/hula-hooping/ice-skating, then I’ve gone as fast as possible at all times to take advantage of the fact that there are no limits.
07. Most binge-worthy show on Netflix?
Orange is the New Black was pretty satisfying. And Game of Thrones is amazing – I could watch that A LOT. Netflix doesn’t have it, but the Library does.
08. Last YouTube video that made you laugh?
And this one always makes me chuckle. (the video skips once at the 00:15 second mark, but stay with it and you get to laugh at a silly puppy)
Basically, I could spend endless hours watching funny videos on YouTube. But unfortunately there’s never enough time to watch them all. Luckily, there are gifs, which are much more time-effective!
BTW, if you don’t smile at least once while looking at these gifs, I don’t think we can be friends.
09. What is a question you don’t know the answer to, but are too embarrassed to ask?
I’m never embarrassed to ask a question – fortunately I’ve spent a lot of time in libraries and on university campuses where asking questions is encouraged and respected. You’ll never know the answer if you don’t ask and only a true jerk will ever make you feel bad for asking. And who cares what a jerk thinks anyway?
10. Which Golden Girl are you (& why)?
Depends on the day. I think everyone has a little bit of each of the GGs in them – which is fantastic since they all had something awesome to offer: Rose’s kindness and simple joy about the world. Blanche’s sassiness and confidence. Sophia’s quick-wittedness and complete lack of BS. And Dorothy’s intelligence and humor. All of these traits come out at different times. I usually try to be Dorothy, but when I’m feeling saucy I can be a real Sophia!
The GGs were a national treasure and I’m so thankful we still have Betty White in our lives. And if this album really does exist somewhere – I want a million copies please.