Library Apprenticeship Feature: Moua Yang
“I was ecstatic to be establishing a workshop that allowed participants to freely work on a project that they’re passionate about. Sometimes, when it comes to creative projects, just starting it can be difficult.” - Moua Yang
Meet Moua Yang, senior undergrad studying English at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and an individual passionate about creative writing and storytelling. Moua’s background being Hmong American and working closely with youth at the Boys & Girls Club led him to participate in our library apprenticeship initiative. He completed his apprenticeship at the Elisha D. Smith Public Library in Menasha, WI and was mentored by Kirk Moore-Nokes, the Programming Supervisor at that library. Initially, Moua was curious to learn more about the role of libraries and see if his interests would align with a career in the field. During his apprenticeship, he and Kirk co-designed a program titled Character Creation. It was a 2-hour workshop where youth between the ages of 10-15 developed fictional characters and used Gencraft to generate AI art images for their fantasy fiction stories.
In this podcast episode Moua and Kirk discuss the following:
01:20 - Introductions
05:25 - Overview of workshop, Character Creation
08:28 - Program planning process
11:48 - Program impact
14:10 - Learning lessons
19:15 - Overall apprenticeship reflections
23:00 - Perceptions, skills, and insights gained.
26:00 - Interesting takeaways about public libraries.
29:08 - Closing remarks
Moua believes the experience improved his leadership and social skills. Known to be quieter and more observant, he felt liberated to design a workshop where he could truly be himself and lean into his creative strengths. If you have any follow up questions or comments, reach out to Moua Yang at yangmoua16@gmail.com and Kirk Moore-Nokes at moore-nokes@menashalibrary.org.
Thank you for supporting our mission. Libraries are stronger when we have a workforce that is representative of our diversifying communities. Follow along as we capture the various ways in which libraries bloom, impacting the environment around them.