Caitlyn Gerwitz is a library student employee of many talents and interests, characteristics that are reflected in her choice of studies.  A Biochemistry major with a minor in Dance, Caitlyn expects to earn her Bachelor’s of Science in the fall of 2019. She is currently working to complete an SMP exploring the prevention of rust on aluminum and metals.  Don’t be discouraged if this goes over your head: the project is an expansion of Caitlyn’s year and a half of research on the Pax River Naval Base to investigate preventing rust in aircraft materials. If the project continues as expected, the results will literally go over everyone’s head (except perhaps Caitlyn’s).

Caitlyn comes to Maryland from across the pond; though from Westminster, Maryland, she came to St. Mary’s from England.  After a friend clued her in about SMCM, both decided to attend the college together. When considering colleges, SMCM stood out as a lovely, inclusive campus that was close to family.  As a graduate of a small school, Caitlyn hoped to attend a small college, and was interested in the Pre-professional Pre-Vet program at St. Mary’s.

As a student employee who has worked with us for 3 years, Caitlyn helps the staff in Collections Support Services (CSS).  CSS is the area of the library that includes Cataloging and Technical Services, which handles much of the behind-the-scenes work of the library by managing new books, journals, and other print materials, organizing them, and preparing them to be checked out by patrons.

Caitlyn feels she lucked out in the job search–when looking for on-campus employment, she really clicked with her supervisor, Cheryl Colson.  In addition to a sweet supervisor (who bakes excellent cakes!), Caitlyn appreciates the relaxed environment, where she can work at her own pace to process all of those new materials with care.

On top of working and studying on campus, Caitlyn is involved with several extracurriculars, including InterChorus, an acapella group, and a Pre-Vet club.  When she gets a chance to visit her family in Georgia, she enjoys spending her time with her dog, Toby, who she admits would not make a good campus pet with his loud bark and high energy.

After her graduation in December, Caitlyn plans to attend veterinary school at Ross University.  In addition to its gorgeous Caribbean setting, Caitlyn can get all of the insider information from Cheryl’s daughter, a graduate of the university’s veterinary program.  Ultimately, Caitlyn’s goal is to start an animal rescue. I think we can all agree the immediate vicinity of SMCM would be an ideal location for us to enjoy cuddles with cute animals the wellbeing of the animals.

While we will miss working with Caitlyn after her graduation, we are grateful for all of her hard work as a student employee and excited to see that animal rescue open!