Meet Lisa Lopez-Carickhoff

LISA LÓ PEZ-CARICKHOFF
Director of Libraries & Information Services
Lisa López-Carickhoﬀ is the Director of Libraries
and Informaon Services for Baldwin, working
with all divisions here at the School. Lisa is also
the faculty facilitator and teacher for the Baldwin
Scholars program. Lisa has more than 10 years of
experience in the educaon ﬁeld.
She joined Baldwin in September 2012. She
previously worked in the West Chester School
District as a librarian and technology liaison on
the high school and elementary school level and
at The Haverford School as a Spanish teacher.
She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Comparave Literature from Haverford College
and a Master of Science in Library and Informaon Science degree from Drexel University.
Why do you teach?
I love school. I love everything about it. I love being around people who are intellectually curious, from my
peer teachers and colleagues to the girls. I said to my husband aer a conversaon with a peer, “I can’t
believe I get to go to work every day and learn something fascinang. “ I get to be around people who have
made the decision that ideas and innovave thinking are the center of their work life.
In the age of technology, what do you see as the role of books and libraries?
I see libraries today as more organic and alive than ever before. The Baldwin School Libraries are a great
model of libraries that have embraced a digital age and are providing informaon in the ways that people
want to get it. Oen that means ﬁnding the best ways to ge%ng the best informaon without regard for the
vehicle, be it books, the internet or other technology and resources. How you get what you need is not
important. It’s the informaon that ma'ers.
Please share with us your insights on Baldwin Scholars.
Baldwin Scholars is a unique opportunity for the girls to pursue their passions and get a taste of research on
a college level. The idea of Scholars is that it’s all about research that will lead to the generaon of new ideas
and curiosies. It takes them to the point of “so what will I do with this knowledge?” and “how can I
contribute to this ﬁeld of research.” It’s signiﬁcant from an academic perspecve and goes beyond wring
papers. They are grappling with complex, diﬃcult and signiﬁcant issues and their work will make a
diﬀerence.
How would you describe Baldwin girls?
Baldwin is raising the bar every day for the girls and they are constantly leaping to meet and exceed the levels we set for them. When I enter a class, there is no queson that I can ask, or a task that I can suggest,
that they don’t respond to with enthusiasm, excitement and curiosity. I am astounded day aer day by the
challenges we put in front of them and what they take on without even blinking. The girls crave the challenges and that is a real movaon for them and for all of us. It really sets our girls apart from their peers
at other schools.
What are your traits that your students most admire?
I saw a license plate the other day that said “Get2Yes.” It may sound cliché but I think we can use more of
that in the world. I strive to have the words accommodang, encouraging and supporve go naturally with
my name. When a girl has an idea or intellectual pursuit that she is passionate about, it is my goal to ﬁnd a
way to help her “get to yes” and have it become a reality for her.
What are your feelings on single-sex educa+on?
I’m a product of an all-girls educaon myself and have chosen the same path for my daughter. For both of
us, single-sex educaon has opened up possibilies that would not have been available in a co-ed se%ng:
possibilies for leadership, for leading in the classroom and for taking risks.
What would you like to say to a prospec+ve Baldwin student
or parent?
ȿ
Baldwin can be the springboard that truly sets the stage for what you dream of accomplishing in your life.
The conﬁdence, the determinaon and the skills are here for the taking.

Download Report