By Krisha Mehta, Library Communications Student Assistant
Veronica Larrazabal Zea brings her creative ideas to life to help students with their university transition.
As a library ambassador at McMaster University Library, Larrazabal Zea appreciates the idea that libraries provide knowledge and resources without a profit focused mindset.
“To be able to promote the variety of resources and engage with a wider audience is very important to me,” she said. “It is what libraries are made for – to help people.”
Larrazabal Zea, who started working as a library ambassador in September 2022, is entering her third year of mechanical and biomedical engineering. Her job includes promoting the library resources to incoming and first-year students, planning and running events at the libraries, and creating content for the Instagram account.
“One of my bigger projects was promoting the popular reading collection at the library by making reels, request forms, and collaborating with the McMaster Book Club,” said Larrazabal Zea. “I love reading so this was my guilty pleasure that I got to promote the things I really like.”
Larrazabal Zea says she is filled with excitement about her new project that is coming soon.
“I’m writing a blog for the library website that will have personalized advice for incoming and first-year students,” she said. “It is something I wish I had during my first year, so hopefully reading something for a student by a student can be helpful and relatable.”
In her free time, Larrazabal Zea dives into the fantasy and science book worlds, writes book reviews, plays the piano, and spends time with her friends.
“Even in the most far-fetched fiction world, there is still so much that you can relate to and learn in every single story,” said Larrazabal Zea. “There is a deeper meaning to anything in every book, they are all there at your fingertips, you just have to take a look at it.”
Ariel Stables-Kennedy, first-year experience librarian, speaks on Larrazabal Zea’s love for libraries.
“You can see Veronica’s deep love for libraries in how well she knows about our services and the enthusiasm she brings to telling people about them,” said Stables-Kennedy. “I’m always blown away with Veronica’s innovative ideas and ability to execute them to best meet our student population’s needs.”
Larrazabal Zea reflects on how working at the library has built her confidence.
“Don’t hesitate to be fully yourself and express your ideas,” she said. “Come in with that confident mindset and watch your ideas come into fruition.”
Students of summer is a storytelling series from McMaster University Library featuring the student assistants who work in our spaces and provide valuable assistance to patrons during the spring and summer months.
