Aug. 8, 2012
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at The Catholic University of America has named Jessica Kemp and Ying Zhang recipients of the 2012-2013 Howard and Mathilde Rovelstad Scholarship.
The late Mathilde Rovelstad and her husband, Howard, endowed the scholarship. Mathilde was a professor of library and information science at Catholic University for 30 years. The scholarships are awarded to students with financial need, a high grade point average, a demonstrated commitment to library and information science, and demonstrated potential to contribute successfully to the field after graduation.
Kemp earned a bachelor's degree in English literature and journalism from Elon University and a law degree from the University of Tennessee. She is currently employed as a strategic communications consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. Although Kemp says she entered SLIS with the intention of becoming a law librarian, she has since found ways to apply library and information science skills to her current job.
Her record of academic and community service includes serving as an editor for the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy ; working with the Community Mediation Center in Knoxville, Tenn., as a trained mediator; and coordinating outreach and service programs as philanthropy chair of an undergraduate social organization. Kemp hopes to use her library science skills to contribute to U.S. national security through government service.
Zhang is pursuing the law librarianship course of study in order to become a specialist in information services related to international law. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from the Dalian University of Foreign Languages in China.
Zhang says she first encountered public libraries as an exchange student in the United States and believes that the role of libraries in providing information to the community is of fundamental importance. She plans to combine her commitment to information access with her belief in the importance of law in a society that functions to the benefit of all.