Originally born in Las Vegas where she spent quality time inside the many branches of the Clark County Library District as a child, Angelica moved to Huntley in 2003. She made frequent trips to the Huntley Area Public Library for books, movies and music. Angelica remembers attending programs when the library’s program room could hold over 80 people at time. One of her favorite programs was 2006s Star Wars Costume Party where she donned Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith’s, threads.
As she got older and entered middle school, she became a contributor to the library’s Teen Zine publication that is designed and developed by teens for teens. She was also a consistent Junior Volunteer for the library’s yearly Summer Reading Program. She recalls, “I started volunteering at the library in middle school, and after I reached the age for employment, I applied to be a library page. Both jobs taught me how to work with different people, how the library’s system and its programs work and what to expect for my future career”. The library’s teen programs helped Angelica find an interest in publication design and writing. She claims, “If it was not for the Huntley Area Public Library, I would not be the person I am today”.
While working at the Huntley Area Public Library, Angelica finished up her High School years as the editor the Huntley Voice, the school’s print and online newspaper. After graduating, she attended Elgin Community College to begin work on her Journalism degree. Shortly after settling into her college life, she became the editor of the Observer, the ECC newspaper.
Now at age 21, she is working diligently on her career while attending Eastern Illinois University. She is majoring in Journalism and minoring in Marketing. “Aside from providing me with a nearly unlimited, relevant and interesting collection of books, movies and music, the library has helped me develop a good work ethic.” That work ethic has provided her with scholarships and awards through her college years. Today she continues to use libraries for doing research and as a space for discovering new books, movies and music. She also uses the library as a meeting place for clubs and other activities. Her favorite book is 1984 by George Orwell, a fitting title in 2017 considering recent hot topics in the news.
Angelica is currently a Managing Editor of the Daily Eastern News and hopes to become a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. She embodies the 2017 National Library Week theme, “Libraries Transform.”
