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3 COGNOTES HIGHLIGHTS ALAANNUAL.ORG/MOBILE–APP|#ALAAC19 Hoda Kotb Shares Her Inspiring Story By Elizabeth Uchimura, Florida State University As Hoda Kotb took the stage for the Auditorium Speaker Series June 22 she exclaimed, “Look at all you beautiful librarians!” The “NBC News Today” co-anchor and New York Times bestselling author easily connected with the eager crowd, regaling her journey in television journalism, surviving breast c a n c e r, a n d adopting her two daughters. Inviting and engaging, Kotb’s talk felt more like sitting down with a friend at coffee than addressing hundreds of librarians. Her story serves as a reminder to pay attention what is Hoda Kotb important in life and how there are always blessings waiting on the other side of adversity. Kotb opened her talk by thanking librarians saying, “I can’t tell you how much you matter to your communities, your states, and to this country.” Kotb, whose mother worked at the Library of Congress for 32 years, fondly remembers the awe and grati- tude she felt for the libraries and librarians that she grew up with. She stressed the importance of books in her life and in her children’s lives, noting her daughter’s craving for books even as a twoyear-old. Witty and light-hearted, she described her journey, beginning with her 10day trek across Southeast America to interview for television positions after graduating college. After 27 rejections, she got lost on her way back home and was resigned to give up her dream of television journalism until happening upon one Hoda Kotb on the ‘Wow’ of Books and Libraries last station in Greenville, Miss. It was there that she met Stan to change her perspective and to change her Sandroni, who offered her a job that mindset. After pressing her for details, the would eventually launch her illustri- man told her, “Don’t hog your journey. It’s ous career. Kotb noted, “It only takes not just for you…you can help someone.” one person to love you” in order to From then on, Kotb began to demand more from the life she was living. receive opportunities. She decided to focus on what she wanted Several years later, while working on “Dateline,” Kotb got the call that she had instead of spending time on the things that breast cancer. The TV personality quietly didn’t matter to her. She began to ask for recalled her reluctance to talk about her ex- what she wanted instead of hoping someperiences after her mastectomy until a chance one would see her need and hand it to her. meeting with a stranger on a plane soon after And above all, she started talking about her her surgery. Again, it only took one person dreams in an effort to make them real. One of those dreams was having children and a few months after voicing this dream, Kotb would adopt her oldest daughter Haley. Since then she feels that her priorities have become crystal clear, with her family as her “north star,” and her children as her inspiration for her latest writing. She warned the audience to be careful about writing in journals, quipping that scribbles in a journal might just become a book, just as they did for I’ve Loved You Since Forever, which was inspired by words she had written while she was still dreaming about Haley. Got a Dirty Database? Subscribe for free* Get it Cleaned Up this Summer! MARCIVE’s catalog cleanup experts can help you declutter your catalog with: • Authorities Processing • MARC Record Enrichment • Brief Record Upgrade • Custom Cleanup 800.531.7678 www.marcive.com Research information Researcher? Publisher? Librarian? Research Information is the essential link between publishers, librarians and researchers Keep your catalog tidy on a regular basis with our Comprehensive Notification Service. *Registration required Register for your free subscription now! researchinformation.info/subscribe