Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

As a Film and Media Studies major with a minor in English, Kevin Glotfelty has spent a lot of the past 4 years in front of the screen, behind the camera, and onstage.

Growing up, Kevin learned to love films, spending a lot of time watching movies with his dad.  If you’re looking for a film recommendation, some of Kevin’s favorites include The Lobster, Dead Man (an acid Western), and Audition (a Japanese horror film).  When deciding on the major, Kevin chose film because of his love of movies and interest in learning about the behind-the-scenes of film production.

While studying at SMCM, Kevin has especially enjoyed Mark Rhoda’s Horror Film class as it made a horror fan of him by framing the genre as a way to look at and understand contemporary society.  Garrey Dennie’s classes have also been rewarding because of the instructor’s knowledge and insight into African studies. Specifically, Kevin highlights Africa and the African Diaspora and Redemption Songs, the latter of which makes interesting connections to reggae music.

Kevin is currently completing a nature documentary for his SMP, which focuses on the conservation of salt marshes in St. Mary’s County.  The film will address why these ecosystems should be conserved, what we can gain by protecting salt marshes, and what may happen if we do not.

In his free time, Kevin participates in Philosophy Club, hosts The Lit Hour on Wednesdays on Seahawk Radio, and has played a role in SMCM productions including Machinal, Spring Awakening, and Happy Birthday, Wanda June.

Kevin is a Marylander from Bowie, though his mother is a St. Mary’s County local.  When considering colleges, Kevin was looking to stay in-state, but hadn’t seriously considered SMCM or even been to visit.  He decided on a whim to attend and doesn’t regret it.

At the LAMC, this spring marks Kevin’s 4th semester working in the 3rd floor Media Center.  As someone with an interest in cameras and sound equipment, Kevin enjoyed learning about the equipment and services available there.  After getting to know supervisor Justin, Kevin was able to get paid to do what he already enjoys. When new equipment comes in, Kevin relishes the opportunity to “play with the toys.”

Kevin will graduate at the end of spring semester in May 2019.  After graduation, Kevin plans to find freelance production work in the Washington, D.C. area, eventually moving on to Atlanta.  Though he’s not looking forward to the heat, Kevin finds the film production opportunities in Atlanta exciting, as well as the Southern food and trap music.

We will miss Kevin when he leaves St. Mary’s and the LAMC, but we’re looking forward to seeing his name appear in the credits of many a film on IMDb!

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!

Student employee Zane Loeb has worked in libraries for a while; when he introduces himself, you can tell immediately.  “It’s Z-A-N-E like Zane Grey,” he says, alluding to the prolific Western writer. “Or like Zane the erotic writer,” he adds matter-of-factly.

When considering colleges, Zane was drawn to SMCM’s beautiful campus, small class sizes, and the opportunity to develop personal relationships with faculty.  Now a senior, Zane will be moving onto bigger things in the spring. First, he will wrap up those last few classes needed to earn a BA in history with a German minor.  Having completed a study abroad program to Germany, Zane has put those German skills to use. While in Germany, Zane’s mother and sister visited to find Germany’s best Riesling even if they had to visit every last winery enjoy the pleasure of Zane’s company.

Zane has always enjoyed history, and his interest in the subject helped him succeed in class.  The history major offered additional intrigue through a History of Piracy class tracing the colorful lives of adventurers like Bartholomew Roberts.  The instructor shared rare historical documents with the class that few get to see. One of the memorable tasks students completed was to watch the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie (“the good one,” Zane clarifies) and rewrite it to be more historically accurate–though the skeleton pirates could stay.

The study of history aligns well with his goal of becoming a librarian.  After working in a library during high school, Zane decided it was a place he could see himself long-term.  A library veteran, Zane has been working at the LAMC for 3 ½ years–longer than some of our newer full-time members of staff!  The job has been a good opportunity to gain practical experience in a different library setting. Additionally, he has enjoyed helping people solve problems, whether locating a particular book or troubleshooting a printer malfunction.  

Though happy to help library patrons, Zane would like to share the following PSA about his library pet peeve:  please remember to put unwanted books into the shelving bins and throw away those Daily Grind cups. Or at the very least buy us a coffee too.

When not in class or staffing the library’s circulation desk, Zane can be found participating in Fencing Club; if it’s nice outside, you’ll spot the fencers out on the tennis courts.

As for the future, there are a couple of library science programs Zane is considering close to his hometown of Columbia:  University of Maryland College Park or Catholic University. Though we’ll miss Zane when he graduates from SMCM, we’re happy he will soon join us as a colleague in librarianship, the field of glamorous, successful people!