Elevate: Kristin Quintanilla

Timothy Webb: Thank you all for joining us today here on Elevate, broadcasting from the Razorback Camper Sales Studio. This National Park College podcast highlights a different Nighthawk with each episode. We'll talk about their journey, challenges, key moments of success, their moments of elevation, leveling up, and overcoming. I'm Timothy Webb, your host, and I'd like to welcome to the program Kristin Quintanilla. Thanks so much for joining me today. Kristin Quintanilla: Hi. It's good to be here. Timothy Webb: All right. Kristin, tell us a little bit about yourself. Kristin Quintanilla: Well, I'm married. I have adult children. I have an adult granddaughter and a younger grandson. I am an avid Jesus follower and I love my job. Timothy Webb: What position do you hold here in NPC? Kristin Quintanilla: I am one of three librarians that the campus has. Timothy Webb: Oh, that's cool. That's cool. I love libraries. Kristin Quintanilla: Good. We love people who love libraries. Timothy Webb: Yeah, yeah. I used to go to the library all the time in my 20s. We have a great library here, not just here at National Park, but here at Garland County. I would go there and get DVDs and stuff because I didn't have cable. Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah, we have DVDs here, too, although we've noticed that as time has gone on that those aren't used as much just because of streaming services, but some of our students still use them. Timothy Webb: Yeah. I learned a lot. I educated myself a lot doing that, actually. Kristin, how come a librarian for a career path? Kristin Quintanilla: Well, I started college late. I was in my 40s, I was a single mom, and honestly, as much as I love libraries, it was not a career path that I chose. I came out here to go to college and started as a work-study in the library and then the ladies there, I've just worked with some really good librarians over the years, but the ladies there just really encouraged me, and it seemed like the way to go. Timothy Webb: That's great, that's great. Sometimes our careers find us, don't they? Kristin Quintanilla: They do, they do. Timothy Webb: How long have you been here at NPC, Kristin? Kristin Quintanilla: As I said, I started as a work-study in 2003 when I started college in the spring of 2003, so I was a work-study at the library all through 2003. Then I was hired on as full-time staff in the library in December of 2003, so I've been here 19, 20 years, depending on how you look at it. Timothy Webb: Oh, that's awesome. You're one of the librarians here at the college. What all does that position entail? Kristin Quintanilla: Well, currently, because I've gone through several different positions in the library, I got my degree while I was employed here at National Park in the library, so I worked on my degree then. Currently, I'm pretty much in charge of the collection, which means that I do all of the purchasing for the collection, the majority of it. I weed things out to make sure that stuff that's out of date or not being used is taken out of the collection. I process all of the new things that are coming in, anything that really has to do with that part of the collection, and I also help a lot with the students who have research problems. I'm one of the research librarians. I help them with just really anything like that they have and I do some student instruction in the classroom, too, if instructors need a substitute for a day, or if they just have an assignment coming up that's going to involve the library, they will come and ask us to come in and talk to the students about the library. Timothy Webb: Oh, wow. You wear a lot of hats. Kristin Quintanilla: I do. We all do. Timothy Webb: Wearing all those hats, what are some of the challenges that you face? Kristin Quintanilla: Well, think about the last 20 years, the biggest challenge I think I've faced is all of the changes in technology in 20 years. When I started here 20 years ago, there was no such thing as an online class. We just did the telecasts that students had to do once a week. We had to deal with that. All of the technology that's come in, all of the online classes, getting used to that, getting used to differences in databases. 20 years, there's been a lot of change in technology, and I think that's been a challenge is to stay on top of that, to know what's new, and what needs to happen. Timothy Webb: Mm-hmm. Being a librarian, are there any common myths that you'd like to clear up for our audience? Kristin Quintanilla: The main one is that we have a lot of time to read. We even have parents come in and say, "My daughter would like... She's a real big reader. We think she'd like to be a librarian." While I do love to read, I love to read, I have very little time for it during the day. Every once in a while, I might have a little bit of time to pick up my book if I've got to cover the front desk and it's quiet. But for the most part, I don't have any time to read. Timothy Webb: Yeah. No, you got to get the shelves back stocked and order new material, I'm sure, and then with all those other hats, you might have to sub a class. There's just a lot going on, isn't there? Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah, there is. Timothy Webb: I know right now you guys are doing that 50th-anniversary displays and I'm sure that takes a lot of you guys' time as well. Kristin Quintanilla: I've always taken care of the archives, such as they are. We are trying to get them improved all the time. It's just a big job. But really wanted to be part of that 50th anniversary and going through those archives and making sure that we've got... There's a lot to showcase and we want it to be out there. Timothy Webb: Mm-hmm. For any of our listeners that don't know, the National Park College is turning 50 this year, so we're very excited. Kristin Quintanilla: Yes. Timothy Webb: Kristin, what are some of the obstacles that you've had to face and overcome to get to where you are today? Kristin Quintanilla: I think that really the biggest obstacle that I faced was just fear of my own making, having to realize that I actually could go to college, I could start college in my 40s. I didn't have a real clear path at that point, but you listen and you learn and things fall into place. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Can you tell us what it felt like when you got over that fear and overcame that obstacle? Kristin Quintanilla: I can remember walking around campus once I actually started and just being so happy that I was in college, I was going to college, and I had just never imagined that for myself, having almost raised my kids, and still had one in high school, but it just made me really happy to walk around campus and know that I was actually here and I was doing something. Timothy Webb: Yeah, yeah. You had a direction. Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Can you tell us what is it about your position that rewards you? Kristin Quintanilla: I think one of the things that rewards me the most, I do love being back in my office and ordering and cataloging and all that, but something that's rewarding is when a student comes in and they really don't have a direction, they have to write a paper or do a project and they just don't know what they're going to do, and talking them through that, trying to find out their interests, how that relates to the project, what direction we can go, showing them the resources we have. I'm sure you've had instructors say before, "That look, when you look at them and they get it and they realize, 'Oh, I can do this and this is all here and somebody's going to help me. I'm not alone.'" Honestly, they get that look, and it's the best. Timothy Webb: Yeah, and that's what it's all about. Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah. Timothy Webb: Yeah. The last instructor I had on actually the last episode called it "the light bulb moment." Shout-out to Dino. Can you tell us a few lessons that your position has taught you? Kristin Quintanilla: Well, as I said before, mostly the technology, and that feels really good for a person of my age to know if I don't know exactly how to use the technology, at least I know it's out there, and I can educate myself on it. I've learned so many things that we're always joking about things you don't learn in library school that you have to deal with on a daily basis. But I am proud of the fact that there's so many people who are my age who just resist technology, don't want to deal with technology, and I know it's out there, I know what's coming, I at least can look at it and say, "I don't know about it now, but we're going to work on it." Timothy Webb: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely, and it's moving fast. It's moving so fast. Kristin Quintanilla: I know. It really is. Think about the last 20 years. It's just crazy. Timothy Webb: Mm-hmm. It's hard to keep up. Kristin, are there any achievements that you're most proud of? Kristin Quintanilla: The achievement of going on and getting my master's degree. When I started, I started just to take a class and thought I'd go slow and things just kept speeding up and then there was a bachelor's degree that was offered through U of A. Oh, I think it was about 2007, 2008. I started working on my bachelor's degree, never imagining that I would get past my associate's degree, but it was offered here, and we had to meet every Saturday, and there was a satellite feed from U of A in one of the classrooms here, and we were a cohort, and we met with other cohorts around the state. That's just the technology that was used then. Getting my master's degree, Arkansas does not offer a librarian degree. They do not offer the Master's of Librarian Information Science. They don't have that degree anywhere, so I had to go out of state, and by that time I was doing all online classes from the University of Pittsburgh. Again, I did have to go to Pittsburgh once a semester, and again, walking around campus just thinking, "This is just crazy. I can't believe I'm here." Timothy Webb: Yeah, and you did it. Kristin Quintanilla: I did it. Timothy Webb: Kristin, where did you grow up and what was it like there? Kristin Quintanilla: I grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado, which is about 60 miles due north of Denver. I still love the mountains. We have hills in Arkansas. These are not mountains. Timothy Webb: Come on, now. Kristin Quintanilla: Just beautiful, and had very defined seasons, although not summer like we have here. Still don't like the summers here, but I've lived here now for almost 30 years. But Colorado, I love to go back and visit any chance I get. Timothy Webb: Can you tell us about an influential person in your life and how they impacted you? Kristin Quintanilla: Since moving to Arkansas, I have had wonderful pastors, and I feel like that is just a blessing from God that these men have just poured into my life knowledge. Currently, one of my pastors is Teddy Cross, and he is the young man who comes and does worship here with United once a month. He's half my age, but I have learned so much about worship and prayer and the Bible. He's just so knowledgeable and he's really been a huge influence on me, just on my spiritual life. Timothy Webb: Any favorite childhood memories you'd like to share? Kristin Quintanilla: Snow. Timothy Webb: Snow. Kristin Quintanilla: That's pretty much it. I really miss the snow, just being out in it, loving it. I have a niece and nephew who are very close to my age. My niece is a month older and my nephew is just 18 months younger and the three of us just always used to have a blast when we were together. We lived close enough that we could play and I have a lot of snow memories with them. Timothy Webb: What kind of things would y'all do in the snow? What kind of games would y'all play? Kristin Quintanilla: A lot of sledding. Colorado snow is not really conducive to a lot of snowmen or snow forts, but we did a lot of sledding, snow angels, and just being out in it. Timothy Webb: Yeah. See, I hate snow, believe it or not. Kristin Quintanilla: You hate snow? Timothy Webb: I do, because it always gets my feet wet. I'm not prepared. Kristin Quintanilla: Oh, well, you just got to get a good pair of snow boots. Timothy Webb: One day. One day. If my wife's listening, there's a Christmas idea for you. If you could give your younger self any piece of advice, what would it be? Kristin Quintanilla: In so many situations, it would be, "Just do it now, don't put it off." I tend to procrastinate, obviously procrastinated with my education for 20 years, and just a lot of other things I think of I can look back on and think, "If I had just done it when it happened, or if I had just said the right thing when I needed to right then," so I think it would be to just, if you know what you want to do, just do it. Don't put it off. Timothy Webb: That's awesome advice, I think, because so often we don't do those things and you can't get that time back. That time just keeps rolling whether you are making the most of it or not. Kristin Quintanilla: There're always consequences. Sometimes they're not so bad, but sometimes you regret them, so just do it. Timothy Webb: Right. Just do it. Nike. Kristin Quintanilla: Yep. Timothy Webb: They got it right, didn't they? Kristin Quintanilla: They did. Timothy Webb: Kristin, you already explained this, but is there any more details on how you got to NPC and what brought you here? Kristin Quintanilla: Well, like I said, 20 years ago, this was really the only act in town. There was no opportunity to go away to college. I was in my late 30s and had a child in high school and Garland County Community College was it and I just had one of those influential pastors one day just said, "You need to go to school. Your kids are almost all grown and you need to go to school." I'd never thought about it. Honestly, that was in the summertime, and I didn't just do it, it took me till spring semester to work up the courage to come. But he was right, it needed to be done, and I haven't regretted it for a day. Timothy Webb: Awesome. Sometimes we just need to hear it from that right person, huh? Kristin Quintanilla: That's right. Timothy Webb: Other than NPC and library activities, what are some of your hobbies? Kristin Quintanilla: Well, I do love to read. I read quite a bit when I'm home. I do embroidery, craft work, needlework. Really, that's about the only thing that I do as far as crafting. I like to explore places around the state or wherever I am. I just like to go exploring. I'm not real outdoorsy. I'm not a hiker, but I like to drive to new places and just see them. I love zoos. I love to find a new zoo and go and just walk around and do things like that. Timothy Webb: Hmm, so exploring and reading, to me, they're almost in a similar vein because it is both exploring, they take you to a different place. Would that be accurate for you in that? Kristin Quintanilla: Absolutely. Never really thought about it like that. The things you learn from books, I think about all the stuff I've learned over the years, and so much of it is just a little tidbit of information from a piece of fiction, and you think, "Well, how did I know that? Well, I read that book years ago and now I know that and I want to go there. I want to see that," so yeah. Timothy Webb: What do you think it is about exploring that draws you to it? Kristin Quintanilla: I do like history a lot and I like to go to historical places, places where you are walking around and you're walking where these people walked and you're doing these things that years ago people did, whether it's a building or a park or a national park, you're still where people have gone and where things have happened. There's just a feeling of oneness with people that way with history. Timothy Webb: I have a similar thought sometimes and I'll share it with you. When I look at the moon, I realize to myself that everybody in history has looked at the same moon, any of these historical figures, they look at the same moon. I'm looking at the same thing they've looked at. Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah, and it ties you together. My first husband was in the Army and we lived in Germany a couple of times and I would look at the moon and I would think, "My family in America, it's not the right timing, but they're going to look at the same moon." It just brings a closeness and kind of just brings everything together. Timothy Webb: Right. Kristin, if you could talk to anyone from the past, present, or future, who would it be and why? Kristin Quintanilla: So many people historically, biblically, and I'm going to get a little more personal than that, if that's okay. Timothy Webb: That's fine. Kristin Quintanilla: I would talk to my son, Forest. He was killed in Afghanistan 15 years ago. He was on active duty in the Army. I have every expectation of seeing him again on the other side, but it would make me happy just to have a sit-down talk with him again, just to shoot the breeze, so that would be, if I could have anybody, tons of historical biblical figures, but if I had to choose one, it would be my son. Timothy Webb: Yeah, yeah, definitely. That's understandable. Kristin, what are your future plans? Kristin Quintanilla: Well, I plan on staying at National Park until they've physically pick me up and carry me out. I do have plans to retire in the future, but it'll be a while down. I truly love my job. My adult children and grandchildren are kind of scattered. I love to visit. There are new places that I want to see. There's some cities in the US that I've never seen. If I don't go overseas again, that's okay, there's just so much to see here that I really do want to just take trips, go places, and see things. Timothy Webb: Yeah, do some of that exploring. Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah, and my husband's, he's always up for a road trip, so we'll do that. Timothy Webb: Oh, that's good. Y'all were meant to be then. Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah. Timothy Webb: I can't tell you how often faculty and staff have sat in that chair and said, "They're going to have to drag me out of here." That's how much people that work here love NPC. Kristin Quintanilla: Yeah. Timothy Webb: Kristin, are there any advice or quotes or mottoes you live by that help direct you you'd like to share with our listeners? Kristin Quintanilla: There is a quote that was years ago that my sister gave me a little necklace years ago when I had just started school. It's "ancora imparo." That is Italian. Basically, it's, "Still, I am learning." A big bucket list thing was to go to Italy to see Michelangelo's David and I got to do that. I love his work. I might want to talk to him after I talk to my son. They say that he said that when they asked him where he learned to paint when he was painting the Sistine Chapel- Timothy Webb: Oh, wow. Kristin Quintanilla: ... or how he had learned to paint and he said, it's either, "Still, I am learning," or, "Yet, I am still learning," so I just never want to stop learning. I would hope that translates to my students or to the students I come in contact with, there's just so much out there. Occasionally, we have a student come into the library who has come in and they have to read a book. They're being told by an instructor, "I have to read a book," and they will either tell me that, "I've never been in a library before." Timothy Webb: What? Kristin Quintanilla: Or, "I've never read a whole book." Timothy Webb: Wow. Kristin Quintanilla: That's just like, "Stab me in the heart." To find a book for them to read is just a joy and for them to come back and say, "That was pretty good." I just want them to still learn and to still grow and to not think that you ever have to be stagnant or you don't ever have to just stay where you are. There's always something you can learn. Timothy Webb: Absolutely. No, that's a good one. I like that. I'm going to take that one with me. Kristin Quintanilla: Okay. Timothy Webb: Yeah. Kristin Quintanilla, I want to thank you so much for joining me on Elevate today. I really appreciate it. Kristin Quintanilla: Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate being asked. Timothy Webb: It's been awesome talking to you. Thanks to all of you for listening to Elevate today from the Razorback Camper Sales Studio. New episodes are released each Thursday. Special thanks to National Park College and The Sentinel-Record for making this podcast possible. Until next time, this is Timothy Webb reminding you that every day is a chance to elevate.