Media Specialist

 

Media Specialist

 

Mrs. Shoshannah Gil Mercedes

Mrs. Gil Mercedes is the Library Media Specialist at Thomas Jefferson High School. She is a graduate of Christopher Newport University with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in Journalism. She also attended George Mason University and University of Virginia-Wise for her graduate studies in Library Media Services. Mrs. Gil Mercedes has been in the field of Education for over 10 years. She has taught both at the Elementary and Secondary level. Born and raised in Virginia, Mrs. Gil Mercedes is from a large family filled with educators, loves sports, enjoys reading in her spare time, and takes pleasure in traveling with her family. She is married and has one son.

She has previous experience teaching high school English, taught 3 years as an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, and has spent the last four years as a Library Media Specialist.

Mrs. Gil Mercedes believes the school library media center is the heartbeat of every school. She feels that the library should be a think tank, in which students can collaborate, think critically, and research. She believes in preparing students for lifetime learning, the responsible use of information technology, informed decision-making and a general love of reading.

"It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations—something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own." —Katherine Patterson