Meet a Roadrunner: Love of Reading Brings Houston Native to UTSA Libraries
(Nov. 27, 2013) -- Meet Omolara-Jara Lawal. The Houston native overcame significant obstacles before finding success at UTSA.
Lara was four years old when her mother died of leukemia. Soon after, her father sent her and her three brothers to live in Nigeria with an uncle and aunt. Her oldest brother stayed in Houston with her father.
"I don't think he was overburdened but I think it would have been a lot to take care of five kids," she says.
While in Nigeria, Lara learned to speak her father's native language, Yoruba, as well as some French. She also assimilated to the region's strict cultural norms.
"There is a lot of discipline in Nigeria," she says.
After skipping the fifth and sixth grades, Lara returned to Houston at age 10.
"I was teased a little," she says. "You know kids, when they see someone they're not used to seeing."
Lawal, though, found her own world in the library.
"I love to read," gushes the UTSA business finance major.
When she started at UTSA, she says she frequently visited the John Peace Library. When she saw the library had an opening for a peer coach — student workers trained to help other students with library-related inquires — she jumped at the opportunity.
Lara says her job is exciting and rewarding because students are always thankful for assistance. Tyler Dunn, a library assistant who supervises the peer coaches, said Lara is always very helpful to students.
"Lara's outgoing personality and leadership skills make her very effective at sharing her library know-how with other students," Dunn said.
Lawal said she enjoys helping others at the Libraries, and hopes to build on her skills by working for Teach for America after she graduates.
Lara says she misses her family very much, but she hopes she's made them proud.
"I know my dad always wants what is best for me," she said.
------------------------------
Do you know someone in the UTSA community with a great story to share? Email us at social@utsa.edu, and we will consider your submission for our next installment of Meet a Roadrunner.
Story Courtesy of Stephanie Sanchez and Alice Frederick, UTSA Libraries
Events
Learn to use the simple but powerful features of EndNote®, a citation management tool. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography.
Virtual EventLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis solo exhibition features the work of Delita Martin, a world-renowned master printmaker known for creating representations of black women in complex and luxuriant narrative portraits.
Russell Hill Rogers Galleries, UTSA Southwest CampusThis workshop will teach you how to explore, clean, and transform your data and reproduce the steps you have taken using OpenRefine. Required to install OpenRefine before attending the workshop.
John Peace Library (JPL 3.02.32,) Main CampusPressbooks is an open educational resource authoring platform for simple book publishing. This workshop will cover more advanced features in the platform and expands on what was learned in the Pressbooks Basic workshop.
Virtual EventThe UTS Bold Careers Interns and Ambassadors present historical and remarkable women to celebrate Womens History Month at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Mesquite Room (SU 2.01.24,) Main CampusThis workshop will provide some basics of text analysis and introduce the underlying structure of Voyant Tools and its user interface.
John Peace Library (JPL 3.02.32,) Main Campus