Sang Park was one of the founding staff members of UC Merced and re-joined library as the Technical Services Coordinator in April. He spent the last 18 years heading up a research library for the Navy. Prior to joining UC Merced the first time, he worked in the library at NASA Ames Research Center, UCSF, San Francisco City College, and San Diego State University.
What interested you in this position?
To be honest, the main thing that interested me was being able to actually do some library work. After spending most of my time in my previous position in management, supervising librarians and library technicians, I am really looking forward to library duties and fewer responsibilities. Plus, I already own a house nearby.
What is something that you’re looking to accomplish in your new role?
Cataloging is probably where I have the least experience within a library. I’m hoping to get up to speed quickly and make it one of my strongest skills. I’m also hoping to quickly make a big dent in the current backlog of donations.
What are some of your favorite things to do in your free time?
I love traveling and spending time in nature. I especially enjoy hiking and scuba diving. I’ve always loved traveling, and at some point in my life, I transitioned to adventure travel.
My last trip was through South Africa, Madagascar, and Mauritius. I was able to go on two safaris, and I was hoping to be able to dive with some Whale Sharks off the coast of Madagascar, but the weather conditions were not optimal. So, I ended up visiting the Island of Lemurs instead.
Some of my more memorable trips were driving around different parts of Spain that included participating in the running of the bulls, diving down the Big Blue Hole in Belize, and doing the Mt. Everest trek in Nepal.
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Help us give Sang a warm welcome back to UC Merced!
