From Flinn Falcon to Auburn Knight

Rockford, IL. – Books are a big part of Elizabeth Krampota’s life.  So it stands to reason she will be taking a new direction in her working life as a librarian at Auburn High School.  She knows she has some huge shoes to fill after Lori Drummond-Cherniwchan announced her retirement earlier this year.  But Krampota says she has ginormous plans for her new digs.

“The students here are at a point in their lives where they are eager to learn and care about their education,” Krampota said. “I love getting to know people and I am very personable.  I look forward to meeting students like you every day,” she told a journalism class during an interview earlier this month.

This is Krampota’s 15 years in teaching, having spent five of those years in the Rockford School District.

She recently completed her master’s in the Library of Science at NIU and is eager to put her newfound knowledge and skills to work.  Much of her work for her master’s was online so she is preparing for all sorts of educational challenges as she takes the helm at Auburn.  She has also worked in Belvidere and at the Boone-Winnebago Regional Learning Academy.

With her move to Auburn, she is returning to her roots.

“I started out working with high school students and I wanted to go back to high school,” she said.  “Mr. Nachreiner used to be a principal at Flinn and he said Auburn was a good school and he was instrumental in encouraging me to apply.”

Krampota’s love for the school and teaching goes way back.  Just ask her younger sisters who she’d make sit and do worksheets and other assignments she created as she played teacher with them.

“I feel bad for them now,” she laughed. “They are twins and I would make them both sit and listen while I played teacher.  I want students here to get engaged in the learning process too and I will do everything I can to make that happen.”

Krampota prefers memoirs based on real-life people and stories, but she also reads mysteries, horror stories, and a variety of other types of books.

I am reading three right now,” she said. “I also love art and taught art in school. So I love being creative and I don’t like doing the same thing every day.”

While Krampus plans to bring energy and variety to the job, she also wants to make sure everyone feels welcome in the library beginning on day one.  She has recently spent time with Ms. Drummond getting to know the lay of the land so she can hit the ground running next fall as students return.

“What I would like to do is to get to know everyone a little bit better,” she said. “I want to bring a lot of hands-on stuff to the library and get students engaged in fun things.  I also want the library to be a place of refuge for everyone, a quiet space where we will have games out, hobbies, other activities, etc.”