April 24, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Sophia Brewer didn’t plan on being a librarian, or even living in Michigan. But she’s now confident she is where she is supposed to be.
Brewer, GRCC’s reference and collection development librarian, shared her story and commitment to helping people find resources to be successful on a recent episode of the “Speaking of Teaching” podcast.
“Speaking of Teaching,” in its second season, was created by the GRCC Teaching, Learning and Distance Education Department, with hosts Meg Lockhard, Rachel Lutwick-Deaner and Ian Matthews.
Raised by a single mother in McComb, Miss., Brewer was put in charge of raising her younger brothers and sisters while her mother battled addictions.
“My mother told me I had to leave or I would become her,” she said, adding that it was difficult for her mother to say that, but knew it would be the best thing for Brewer.
She attended Jackson State University in Mississippi. “That’s where I started to dream.”
Brewer thought about studying nursing, but quickly realized that was not her path. She instead studied education, and considered a move to Kalamazoo for a job. That didn’t work out for personal reasons, but came to Grand Rapids to be near relatives and found jobs at the YWCA and the Grand Rapids Public Library.
She would frequently walk through the GRCC campus while working at the public library, and grab a bite in the Raider Grill. Taking part in a community project, she got to know a GRCC librarian who told her about an adjunct position. She started fulltime at the college in 2014.
“I think I’m where I’m supposed to be,” she said. “By force or by choice, we are where we are supposed to be. We should sit in whatever moment we are in and figure out what we are supposed to be doing at that particular moment.”
Brewer said she enjoys the interaction with students.
“In general, I try to hone in on a certain skill set, and the No. 1 skill is to listen,” she said. “The best way to ensure you are welcoming and inclusive and honoring everyone is to listen, to pay attention to that person who is in front of you, or to what that instructor wants in that particular class, and try to live in that moment.”
Brewer was elected to be one of the Michigan Library Association’s three new directors-at-large, a move she said is a logical progression in a career that has been marked by a love for libraries.
The Michigan Library Association is the state’s oldest and largest library association, serving the library profession for more than 130 years.
The organization supports more than 2,000 libraries throughout Michigan from public, academic, school and special libraries, as well as organizations that are supportive of libraries. The group advances the profession through sharing of best practices, innovative ideas and new programs and services that benefit library personnel, library patrons and the communities it serves.
She also has served as a board member and presenter for the Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council and is a member of the Grand Rapids Civilians Appeals Board, which she joined in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd.
And she writes a regular column for the Grand Rapids Times, founded in 1957 and the oldest existing weekly publication targeted to Black communities in Grand Rapids.
“Speaking of Teaching” is available here, and on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other popular podcast hosts.