Monica Priest

  • ONEplace Intern
  • 269-553-7840 | Email

Monica Priest

I am a business student at Western Michigan University majoring in Advertising and Promotion set to graduate in the spring of 2010. But what brought me to the Kalamazoo Public Library is my minor in Nonprofit Leadership.

In order to declare a minor in Nonprofit Leadership, students must become a member of the American Humanics Student Association (AHSA) and complete a 300 hour internship with a nonprofit organization. Jan Maatman, the Director of Nonprofit Programs at WMU, felt my experience in marketing and administrative work would be a good fit with ONEplace. I enjoy the work I am doing and working with the helpful library staff.

I have been a patron of the Kalamazoo Public Library for many years thanks to my grandmother. As a kid, my grandmother would load my sister and me up on the metro at Milham Park, and we would ride around town for the day shopping and seeing the sites of Kalamazoo. Our favorite habitual stop was the museum that sat on top of the library. The mummy never lost its mystery or magic, no matter how many times we pressed our little faces to the glass. And if we were well behaved and especially quiet, we were allowed to look at books in the children’s area as a special treat. My grandmother has helped shape who I am today by her gracious heart and love of giving.

I am excited to be of service to our local nonprofits and look forward to rubbing elbows with some of the most endearing and charitable members of Kalamazoo.