Winner of BRASS Student Travel Award sponsored by SimplyAnalytics, Jennifer Nelson, Reference/Marketing Librarian – Neuse Regional Libraries, Kinston, NC

Jennifer Nelson is awarded the BRASS Student Travel Award sponsored by SimplyAnalytics, for her commitment to serving the business community; for her initiative in providing workshops that develop an entrepreneurial mindset; and for her passion for both business and librarianship.

In her role as the Reference/Marketing Librarian, Ms. Nelson has demonstrated a remarkable level of enthusiasm for increasing the level of support for her public library within the local business and entrepreneur community. She facilitates entrepreneurial mindset workshops associated with the NC IDEA Foundation, ICE House Entrepreneur Program, and by offering business tools workshops made possible through Google’s Applied Digital Skills for small business owners, supported by a Grow with Google grant. From this experience, she has developed a six-week program to be offered in May of 2022 at the main branch of Neuse Regional Libraries which will be the first Entrepreneur Academy in the community. Additionally, as marketing librarian, she oversees regular campaigns to increase awareness of library services available to the local community.

Established in 1992, this $1,250 monetary prize is given to a student enrolled in an ALA accredited master’s degree program to fund travel to and attendance at the ALA Annual Conference and a one-year membership in the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of RUSA.

The BRASS SimplyAnalytics Student Travel Award selection committee was Chaired by Abigail Morgan.