Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School librarian Melissa Heckler has been honored by the National Storytelling Network with the International StoryBridge Award.
The award recognizes the exemplary work, dedication and spirit of those individuals or groups who promote the building of bridges between their country and other countries through the use of storytelling and/or storytelling events.
“I was nominated for this award by Carol Birch, an internationally renowned storyteller,” said Heckler. “She submitted a lengthy, detailed description of my storytelling work here in the U.S. and for 26 summer breaks in Namibia. She also submitted six letters of recommendation written by professionals in the fields of anthropology, literature, storytelling and academia.”
Heckler’s passion for sharing a love of reading extends far beyond the CET community.“Twenty-six years ago, I co-founded the Village Schools in the Kalahari in Namibia,” she said. “During my summer break I have continued to volunteer for the Kalahari Peoples Fund and been involved in the teacher education and a library outreach program. Storytelling is a central teaching tool, and is well utilized by the Ju/'hoansi [our oldest democracy] in educating their children. The bridges I built connected American students to African students through the medium of storytelling.”
Heckler has used her storytelling skills to teach CET students about diverse cultures for 21 years and this past fall, visited Vienna to present her work at an international anthropology conference.
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