Aces of Trades: Pat Wood helping Marion college students succeed
Reading has always had a special place in Pat Wood's heart — along with children, especially her children.
“As a child growing up, I spent many hours reading,” confirmed Wood. “I dreamed of being a professional ice skater one day because I enjoyed ice skating on the pond in the wintertime. When I started having children, I read to them daily hoping to instill a desire to read for them.”
“When my girls went to school,” she continued, “I started working part-time at a public library. The job allowed me to be able to get them off to school and be home before they returned from school. It was a great job where I did many things, but my favorite thing to do was summer reading programs for the children. I loved the planning, activities and the smiles on the children’s faces when they got a new book for reaching a reading goal. I knew this was something I wanted to do long-term.”
Today, Wood is the head librarian for Marion Technical College and The Ohio State University at Marion.
“I came to work for the campus library in April 1999,” she said. “How this happened is that my girls were taking piano lessons and my oldest daughter had read an advertisement that the OSU Marion campus was looking for a library worker and she told me I should apply for the job. I reminded her and the rest of the family that if I took a full-time job, we would have to make some changes in how the household ran. Their answer was, ‘Go for it!’ And the rest is history.”
Pat (Headley) Wood spent her first years in Galion, then her family moved to rural Morrow County. She graduated from Northmor High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology (with a minor in English) from Ohio State, then went on to earn a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree from Kent State.
“I had other jobs before I had children but took time off to raise my girls until the public library job came open," she said. "I stayed at the public library for five years before starting to work at the campus library of Ohio State and Marion Technical College.”
“Since 1999, I’ve had different roles in the library,” Wood added. “However, since August 2019 I’ve been the head librarian for the campus library. I’m responsible for the library budget and operations as well as doing in-person library instruction and teaching online library-related classes for both Ohio State and Marion Technical College students.”
In other words, she “puts students first,” according to former OSUM co-worker Karin Lanius.
“For as long as I’ve known Pat, her primary goal has been to address student needs," said Lanius. "Her positive attitude and smile are indications she loves the work she does and the people she helps.”
“I do this job because I love helping people and teaching others how to do research and write papers or do projects," Wood responded.
“Looking back,” she concluded, “I’m thankful my family encouraged me to apply for the library position. I’ve learned so much from the people here on campus. There have been many times students, especially, have left an impression on me with their desire/determination to complete their college education.”
Marion Technical College is located at 1467 Mt. Vernon Ave. in Marion. For more information, call 740-386-4208 or log on mtc.edu.
The Ohio State University at Marion is located at 1465 Mt Vernon Ave. in Marion. For more information, call 740-389-6786 or log on osumarion.osu.edu.
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at news@marionstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Aces of Trades: MTC/OSUM librarian Pat Wood helping students succeed
