Category Archives: Staff

Appointment, Awards, Conferences, Publications, Staff

Staff Appointments, Awards, Presentations and Publications

August 4, 2023 Travis Willmann Leave a comment

Libraries’ staff regularly excel beyond their day-to-tay accomplishments, and are recognized as high-level experts in their fields through awards, grants, appointments to professional organizations, and publications of professional import. Here we recognize a sample of recent achievements.

This year, two University of Texas Libraries librarians received Texas Digital Library (TDL) awards in recognition of outstanding contributions to digital libraries. Digital Scholarship LibrarianAllyssa Guzman received the Individual Impact Award for her work on the Diversity Resident Program and Scholars Lab. And Head of Scholarly Communications Colleen Lyon received the TDL Service Award for work contributed to the TDL consortium.

Adrian Johnson, head of user services at the Benson Latin American Collection, has been working closely with a local non-profit Cine las Americas since 2015, and serves on the organization’s Advisory Board.

Metadata Analyst Devon Murphy was awarded the DLF Cross Pollinator Award to attend ASIS&T (Association for Information Science and Technology) in London, UK this year, where they presented on the “Metadata Best Practices for Trans and Gender Diverse Resources,” on which she is a co-editor/author. Murphy also has an article in “Ethics of Linked Data,” a collection brings together contributions that explore ethics in linked data initiatives. They have been invited to be a metadata instructor for the Summer Educational Institute, a project between ARLIS/NA (Art Libraries Society of North America) and VRA (Visual Resources Association).

Head of Information Literacy Services Elise Nacca, contributed to “Transforming the Authority of the Archive: Undergraduate Pedagogy and Critical Digital Archives,” an open access publication edited by Andi Gustavson and Charlotte Nunes, set for release this month.

Alice Batt (University Writing Center) and Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning ServicesMichele Ostrow contributed a chapter to the publication “THE TALES WE TELL: Applying Peripheral Vision to Build a Successful Learning Commons Partnership.” Writing Centers and Learning Commons: Staying Centered While Sharing Common Ground, edited by STEVEN J. CORBETT et al., University Press of Colorado, 2023, pp. 145–60. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.399537.16. Accessed 14 June 2023.

Michele Ostrow continued service in positions on multiple Association of College & Research Libraries’ groups: Publications Editor, the ACRL Instruction Section (July 2022-2024); Member of the ACRL Instruction Section Communications Committee (July 2022-2024); and Member of the ACRL University Libraries Section Nominating Committee (June 2022-July 2023).

Mary Rader, Head of the Fine Arts, Humanities and Global Studies Engagement Team co-organized the fall 2022 SAI seminar series, “Hidden South Asian Archives” which included 6 external speakers and highlighted the Sajjad Zaheer Digital Archive. She also received the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award for 2023-2025, and was awarded a 2023 President’s Outstanding Staff Award.

This July, Performing Arts Librarian Molly Roy was the featured presenter at EFF-Austin’s monthly meet-up and speaker series. In this public talk, entitled “A Moving Seen: Explorations in Surveillance Art,” Roy shared some of her research into how dance and choreography might help us understand contemporary surveillance culture. Several members of the UT community were in attendance, including faculty, staff, graduate students, and alumni. EFF-Austin is an independent nonprofit civil liberties organization concerned with emerging frontiers where technology meets society.

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Staff Highlighter: Kiana Fekette

June 6, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

Kiana Fekette came to the Libraries a couple of years ago and was recently named Head of Digitization. Learn a bit about this North Carolina transplant.

What’s your background, and how did you come to work at the Libraries?

It’s a very long, somewhat complicated story of how I got to UT Libraries! Academically, I have BA in Archaeology with a double major in History and an MA in Anthropology with a focus in archaeology. More broadly, I went to university knowing that I absolutely loved history and books but wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do until I happened into a student position within my university’s special collections library as a conservation lab assistant. I knew then I wanted to pursue book and paper conservation but several major life events got in the way and I found myself working for Internet Archive after getting my undergraduate degree. Several years and one master’s degree later, we moved to Austin to be closer to my husband’s family. I wanted to work in something to do with cultural heritage but didn’t have any one specific goal in mind which is how I ended up looking for different library and archive positions.

What’s your title, and talk a little bit about what you do?

As of very recently (May 24^th) I am the Head of Digitization within the Digital Stewardship and Preservation unit. Prior to this, I was the Digital Reformatting Coordinator and I started in 2021. As I am still transitioning into my new role, the majority of my responsibilities have stayed the same. I coordinate and execute the digitization of collections materials which include audio-visual and book/paper items. Our unit works closely with library staff members and patrons to make our collections materials more widely accessible by offering them in a digital format.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

Knowing that so many people – both library staff and patrons – rely on the variety of resources produced by digitization. We’re not just taking high quality scans of items to keep on some random, inaccessible hard drive; our goal is to help others with the pursuit of knowledge and to ensure that these items are available for use across time and space.

What are you most proud of in your job?

Despite the small size of our unit, I am proud of the fact that we’re able to produce such a large quantity of archival-quality material for the library.

What has been your best experience at the Libraries?

Any time the libraries staff is able to get together as a group is always such a fun time to meet new people and catch up with old friends. It’s always refreshing and reassuring to be in a space where you can truly feel the support for one another.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I’ve moved around a lot – first as a military kid, then as a nomadic adult. I’ve lived in Oklahoma, all over central North Carolina, Washington state, Hawai’i, Massachusetts, Ireland, and now Texas. My family is originally from central Pennsylvania (if you can pronounce Schuylkill and Yuengling, or have ever been to Knoebels, please come and find me – I’m sure we have lots to talk about!).

Dogs or cats?

Both! (I have two cats and a dog at home)

Favorite book, movie or album?

Book: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Movie: The Princess Bride or Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Album: I don’t necessarily have a favorite album but my favorite musician is Andrew Bird

Cook at home, or go out for dinner? What and/or where?

I enjoy cooking but I also get very bored with food very easily so I’m always willing to go out to get something I wouldn’t otherwise cook. One of our favorite spots is Turnstile on Burnet Road. They’re both a coffee shop and a full-service bar with great breakfast tacos and truly incredible burgers.

What’s the future hold?

I have no clue, and I’m perfectly okay with that! I’m finally settling down in one spot for the first time in quite a while.

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Staff Highlighter: Lynn Bostwick

May 8, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

Now that Dell Medical has adequately settled in, related programs really need some extra support. Enter Lynn Bostwick, our new Liaison Librarian for Health Sciences.

What’s your background in libraries, and how did you decide on librarianship as a career?

I decided on librarianship as a career because I was inspired in part by my grandmother who worked at the law library at SMU in Dallas when I was growing up. I learned from her to never take the access to information for granted. I also worked for a time for a non-profit providing medical information and community resources to the public, and realized then that I enjoyed the work of helping people access the information they need, so librarianship was a good fit for me. My background is in academic libraries and is varied! It includes all different types of work from cataloging and metadata creation for digitized items to reference and circulation to collection development, instruction and providing research help.

What’s your title, and what do you do for the Libraries?

My title is Liaison Librarian for Health Sciences. I work with students and faculty in Nutrition, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health providing them with classes and research help.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

Knowing I’ll have the opportunity to help someone or learn something each day.

What are you most proud of in your job?

Providing a class to Nutrition students and seeing the results in their posters on display in the Union Ballroom.

What has been your best experience at the Libraries?

All the people I’ve met so far – super students, faculty and colleagues!
What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I LOVE football!

Dogs or cats?

I like dogs but have always had cats. We currently have a seal-point Siamese that rules our house.

Favorite book, movie or album?

Tough question! Favorite album is Alkohol – Goran Bregovic. Years ago I got to see Bregovic perform with his band at Bass Concert Hall.

Cook at home, or go out for dinner? What and/or where?

Both, but lately we’ve been going out to eat at Nori, a plant-based restaurant on Guadalupe that is so good!

What’s the future hold?

Catching up on travel post-pandemic and seeing more of the world!

People, Staff, Staff Highlighter

Staff Highlighter: Kristin Walker

April 17, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

The UT Libraries is one of the largest global lenders in the world. How do those materials make it from here to there, there to here, then back again? Resource Delivery Librarian Kristin Walker knows. Let’s find out more about her work and her world.

What’s your title, and what do you do for the Libraries?

Kristin Walker: Head of Resource Delivery for Interlibrary Services. I manage the department that includes Interlibrary Loan, Get a Scan and Remote Delivery. We borrow and scan research materials for the UT Austin community. Our department fills in gaps within the UT Libraries’ collections and we are able to obtain almost everything for our users. We also ship books to graduate students and faculty that are in remote locations, provide scans for faculty to use in their course materials and we digitize UT Austin dissertations and theses.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

KW: I am motivated by knowing that so many UT Austin researchers depend on our department to supply them with the critical materials needed to complete their projects. It feels good to know that we can help them or make things easier in some small way.

What are you most proud of in your job?

KW: I am most proud when Interlibrary Services is mentioned as one of the most valuable services provided by the UT Libraries.

ILS seems to be a bit of a quiet giant. How important is your department?

KW: Interlibrary loan is considered a critical library service to supplement library collections. No library owns every book or journal, so libraries share their collections with each other. A lot of what we do is behind the scenes, but it is all very necessary to the UT Austin community. It may seem like a mysterious process from the outside, but we use a mix of automation, research and a high level of staff training to make our work seamless to our users.

What has been your best experience at the Libraries?

KW: The best part of working at the Libraries is the people you interact with on a daily basis. My department interacts in some way with almost every other department in the Libraries and this has given me a wholistic insight as to how all of the parts work together.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

KW: I love K-Dramas (Korean TV shows) and I’m learning Korean on Duolingo.

Dogs or cats?

KW: Cats! I currently have two black cats.

Favorite book, movie or album?

KW: Favorite Book: The Thought Gang by Tibor Fischer ISBN: 978-0684830797

Favorite Movie: Wings of Desire; Director Wim Wenders

Favorite Album: Aladdin Sane by David Bowie

Cook at home, or go out for dinner? What and/or where?

KW: I usually cook at home. I attempt a lot of Asian inspired recipes, but I also make simple soups and tray bakes.

What’s the future hold?

KW: There is much more emphasis on digital collections, open access and accessibility as they apply to interlibrary loan and document delivery. Long term, I see copyright laws being revised and modernized to account for digital items.

Awards, Open Educational Resources

Affordable Education Champion: Erin Reilly

March 10, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

In celebration of Open Education Week 2023, the Senate of College Councils, the Natural Sciences Council, and UT Libraries partnered to solicit nominations from students across campus to recognize instructors who increased access and equity by selecting free or low cost course materials for their classes. We’ll be recognizing a few of those nominees this week as Affordable Education Champions!

Affordable Education Champions are instructors who assign free or low cost resources — like textbooks, websites, films, and more — for their courses. Sometimes they author their own materials, and sometimes they’re able to reuse free or low cost work created by others. We celebrate their commitment to fostering access to high quality education at the lowest possible cost barrier for their students.

Today, we recognize and thank Prof. Erin Reilly, who was nominated as an Affordable Education Champion for ADV 365, Audience Development and Engagement.

“Erin Reilly is a creator, educator, and strategist with 20 years of experience inventing new approaches, products, services, and experiences about storytelling, engagement, and learning through immersive technology. As an educator, Erin currently is Professor of Practice in the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, as well as founding Director of Texas Immersive Institute, the interactive and immersive media hub at the University of Texas at Austin focused on research, projects, and learning the future of media. Erin has been a guest lecturer worldwide at universities and industry conferences. She is an Executive Committee Board Member of the Infinity Festival, member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Interactive Media Peer Group, Past Board President of NAMLE (National Association for Media Literacy Education) and serves on advisory boards, such as SXSW Pitch and PBS children’s programming, Hero Elementary and Emmy-award winning Sci Girls.”

As the first course in the Texas Immersive sequence, Prof. Reilly’s class is designed around experiences, and especially around using technology like virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI). “These tools are often too expensive for a student to have on their own, so as a professor — I should ensure they are available for them to use and experiment with…” The student who nominated Prof. Reilly as an Affordable Education Champion appreciated this commitment to putting technology like VR within reach of the students in the class. After reorganizing her class to a flipped model that allowed students time to use these tools, Prof. Reilly noticed that her students understood better what virtual worlds were like and what they could do with them. She wrote “Through weekly sandbox demos, students gain better cognitive abilities of spatial literacy and learn to identify the possible interactions that can happen within a 3D environment whether it is a physical, digital or combination of both.” Because of this focus on using technology collaboratively, the class was also able to come together into a stronger learning community.

Providing free access to these tools was the right thing for her students’ learning in this class, but Prof. Reilly also believes in leveling the educational playing field in general. She wrote of her decision to lower the cost barrier for her students “There are too many things in this world that divide us but as instructors, we can combat this.” In her view “Making education affordable to everyone advances our society…. Making our materials affordable and accessible helps to address the unequal access to opportunities, experiences, skills and knowledge that will prepare our students for full participation in the world of today and tomorrow.”

If you are a faculty member who would like to discuss finding and using OER and other free or low cost course materials in your class(es), please contact Heather Walter, Tocker Open Education Librarian (heather.walter@austin.utexas.edu).

Awards, Open Educational Resources

Affordable Education Champion: Thomas Jesús Garza

March 9, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

Today, we recognize and thank Thomas Jesús Garza, who was nominated as an Affordable Education Champion for E 316N, World Literature.

“Thomas Jesús Garza is University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies and Founding Director of the Texas Language Center. He teaches Russian language and literature, language pedagogy, and contemporary Russian culture. He has been traveling to and researching in Russia since 1979 and has lived in Moscow for over six years. A native Texan, Dr. Garza received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1987. During his more than 30 years at the University, he has received numerous prizes for undergraduate and graduate teaching, including the Texas Excellence Award, the President’s Associates Award, the Harry Ransom Award, was inducted into the University Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2003, selected for a Regents Outstanding Teaching Award in 2009, and chosen a “Texas Top Ten” instructor by the Texas Exes in 2018. He recently completed a book manuscript on filmic portraits of machismo in contemporary Russian and Mexican cultures and is currently working on a new project on Russian actor and bard, Vladimir Vysotsky in the Americas in the 1970s.”

“No student should ever have to make the choice between buying course books or eating lunch.”

Like many of the other Affordable Education Champions, Dr. Garza recognizes the role accessibility to textbooks plays in promoting equity among the student body. He writes, “The issues of equity and access to a quality higher education are extremely important to me. As [a first generation college student] myself, I understand how challenging undertaking college courses can be, especially when that difficulty is compounded by the excessive cost of books and course materials.” When students don’t have to worry about how they will manage to pay for expensive textbooks, they can focus more fully on the class content. The student nominator for Dr. Garza mentioned that they used the money they saved by not having to purchase textbooks for this particular class to pay for needed medication. This exemplifies the difficult financial decisions some UT students have to make. As Dr. Garza says, “No student should ever have to make the choice between buying course books or eating lunch.”

Furthermore, the student nominator appreciated that the format chosen by Dr. Garza (PDFs uploaded to the class Canvas page) allowed them to go back later to read or reread texts when they had more time to fully appreciate their nuances. They wrote that they planned to return to the texts in the future because of the quality of the discussions held in class and that “[it] made me feel cared for because he understands that we already spend so much money on courses and their materials and that there are ways of accessing wonderful literature without putting any burden on the students. Since a lot of them were in pdf form, I still have the ability to go back and read the ones I loved or save them for when I have time.” Using free materials in courses is a way of approaching teaching in a holistic manner. Students are balancing many responsibilities. Giving them flexibility for how they access texts allows them to engage with the material in the way that works best for them.

Dr. Garza’s class addresses trauma and healing, and the diversity of the readings reflects the many different ways to approach this complex topic. Nevertheless, he was “pleasantly surprised” to discover that many of the texts he wanted to use were already available in digital formats that he could link to in Canvas.

Awards, Open Educational Resources

Affordable Education Champion: Deborah Jacobvitz

March 8, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

Today, we recognize and thank Deborah Jacobvitz, who was nominated as an Affordable Education Champion for HDF 342, Development of Psychopathology from Infancy through Adolescence.

Deborah Jacobvitz is the Phyllis L. Richards Endowed Professor in Child Development, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. “[She] specializes in the field of parenting and social and emotional development in children. Her research focuses on the links between family relationships, emotions, health, and development, with a particular focus on the transmission of caregiving across generations, attachment security across the life course and the effects of marital conflict on children’s well being. Her studies address how early caregiving experiences shape how we remember, organize and perceive information and the relationships we form with others. In her work, Dr. Jacobvitz is interested in developing interventions to help families and children in need of support. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, St. David’s Foundation, the Hudson Foundation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Egg Nutrition Center and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.”*

There is a direct link between Dr. Jacobvitz’s emphasis on free and low-cost materials and her genuine care for those whom she teaches. In their nomination, a student quoted from the course syllabus, “My top priority in this course is YOU and YOUR learning experience” and went on to say that Dr. Jacobvitz was “one of the most caring and selfless professors I’ve met during my time at UT.” Furthermore, they said that since they didn’t worry as much about buying expensive materials for the course, they experienced less stress and were able to focus more fully on the class itself. In other words, having low-cost materials as an option led to the student feeling more engaged in the content and more connected to their professor.

When asked about what led her to choose affordable materials for her course, Dr. Jacobvitz wrote, “I noticed there were students in my class that skipped buying textbooks even though it would hurt their grade because they could not afford them. . . .These students asked if they could purchase older used editions which had out-of-date material.” After she adopted the new approach, she noticed an increase in students being prepared for class, participating in discussions, and performing better on class assignments.

While she acknowledges that finding and providing free and low cost materials may take a little more time than requiring a traditional (often expensive) textbook, Jacobvitz feels that it was worth it. She also suggests that faculty who teach similar courses at different universities work together to suggest readings and other resources in the public domain. This has the advantage of bringing together an academic community that goes beyond the bounds of UT. Besides the clear benefit to the student experience, Dr. Jacobvitz pointed out that providing these types of materials aligned with her belief in equal access, as students were not prohibited from accessing up to date materials by a lack of funding.

If you are a faculty member who also believes in open access and would like more information about finding OER and other free or low cost course materials, we encourage you to contact Heather Walter, Tocker Open Education Librarian (heather.walter@austin.utexas.edu).

Awards, Open Educational Resources

AFFORDABLE EDUCATION CHAMPION: MJ Johns

March 7, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

Today, we recognize and thank MJ Johns, who was nominated for their CS 303E class, Elements of Computers/Programming. “MJ Johns (they/them) received their M.E.T in entertainment technology with a concentration in game design from Carnegie Mellon University and their B.A. in computer science from The Ohio State University. MJ is a mobile app developer, game and experience designer, and founder/director of the indie game studio Astire Games.”

In an email, Prof. Johns shared the reasons they create affordable courses: “When I was in college I was working part time and paying my own way, and there were several occasions where I had to choose not to take a class I wanted because the materials required were too expensive. I don’t want any student to choose not to take my class because they can’t afford the materials or textbook.” They elaborated on their process for identifying and creating materials, writing, “I do a lot of research to find free resources for students, and I also create a lot of them myself (I always try to include a mixture of video and reading sources to improve accessibility).” This hard work was reflected in the student nomination, which was especially appreciative of the materials Prof. Johns created themself and of the breadth of materials they assigned.

If you’re looking to make a course more affordable, Prof. Johns has some advice. They recommend to “look for partnership opportunities around campus where such resources and materials could be offered to students for free – the campus libraries and labs have been very supportive and helpful whenever I have tried to make this work.” With partners like the libraries and other campus units, faculty can find access to book chapters, scholarly articles, and even software and hardware needed for the course – all for free for the student. “As for textbooks, my advice is to find out if there are websites or articles that offer similar concepts without the price barrier.” Prof Johns concluded by reiterating their commitment to creating affordable courses, stating, “It takes a bit of extra effort to make sure there are options for students, but in my mind it is well worth the extra time because there will be students who couldn’t take your class otherwise!”

Need help finding OER and other free or low cost course materials? Contact Heather Walter, Tocker Open Education Librarian (heather.walter@austin.utexas.edu).

Awards, Open Educational Resources

Affordable Education Champion: Dr. Kiril Avramov

March 6, 2023 tex libris Leave a comment

In celebration of Open Education Week 2023, the Senate of College Councils, the Natural Sciences Council, and the Libraries partnered to solicit nominations from students across campus to recognize instructors who increased access and equity by selecting free or low cost course materials for their classes. We’ll be recognizing a few of those nominees this week as Affordable Education Champions!

Today, we recognize and thank Dr. Kiril Avramov, who was nominated as an Affordable Education Champion 14 times by students in his EUS 348 class, Intelligence and Espionage in the Eastern Bloc (cross-listed as GOV 324E and REE 335).

“Kiril Avramov is currently an Assistant Professor at the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and a non-resident Fellow to the Intelligence Studies Project (ISP) at the University of Texas at Austin.

Previously he was the Acting Vice-Rector for International Relations and Research at the New Bulgarian University (NBU) in Sofia, Bulgaria and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at NBU. He studied previously at Gustavus Adolphus College (USA/MN), the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), University of Sofia (Bulgaria), Central European University (Hungary), and NBU. He taught in the Department of Political Science at the University of Sofia until 2005 and, from 2006-2010, was also the Director of the international consultancy and research institute ‘Political Capital’ in Bulgaria. In 2010, he was appointed as the Director for International Relations of Political Capital at the firm’s headquarters in Budapest. Dr. Avramov was a Fulbright Senior Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES) at the University of Texas at Austin in 2015-2016. He earned a full scholarship for his PhD research at the University of Sofia and received an ‘Open Society Institute-Sofia’ scholarship for his year-long PhD specialization at the Central European University in Budapest.”*

Dr. Avramov, who shared his thoughts on this course with us via email, called EUS 348 “a course that is an actual labor of love that deals with meaningful and diverse topics that require a wide array of core theoretical and specific issue-focused texts, multiple audiovisual materials, and an AI discussion platform simultaneously to provide relevant context to a very diverse student body.” This variety of sources could become prohibitively expensive, so as one student noted in their nomination, “He [Dr. Avramov] retrieved a mass amount of readings for us, free of cost.” For Dr. Avramov, this strategy was intentional. “To keep the balance between narrowing the scope and the number of sources and keeping the price at a minimum, the natural choice was to seek, combine and incorporate free or affordable source materials.” Students recognized and appreciated this work, noting that the low cost of this course allowed them to buy other textbooks, to fund general living expenses, and, as one student wrote, “I could save money as I’m about to graduate and need to start having money to live on my own.” Students were required to buy one affordable program and found it an integral part of the course. According to one student nomination, “The one program we did have to buy has been very impactful in facilitating conversations with our classmates.”

The experience of teaching this intentionally affordable course has made Dr. Avramov a believer in creating courses this way where possible. He wrote, “Even though crafting a course syllabus based on free or accessible source materials could be taxing in terms of time and effort investment, the results from this investment are more than worth it. I firmly believe that easily accessible quality information does transform lives for the better!”

Need help finding OER and other free or low cost course materials? Contact Heather Walter, Tocker Open Education Librarian (heather.walter@austin.utexas.edu).

*Biography of Dr. Avramov from https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/slavic/faculty/kaa2656

Staff, Staff Highlighter

Staff Highlighter: Haleigh Wyrostek

December 5, 2022 Texlibris Leave a comment

Meet Haleigh Wyrostek (Hay-Lee Why-Ross-Tech), PCL User Services Coordinator, and mostly landlocked marine biologist…

What’s your title, and what do you do for the Libraries?

User Services Coordinator (Sr. Library Specialist) at the PCL. I supervise the student assistants of the check-out desk and other various circulation and reference-based tasks.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work?

The student employees at the desk! Without doubt.

What are you most proud of in your job?

The relationships I’ve made with my colleagues and the students who work at the desk.

What has been your best experience at the Libraries?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the sense of community I’ve gained through working here is the best part of the experience. With my coworkers, assuredly, but also with the students and faculty members I interact with at the desk. Everyone has opened their hearts to welcome me and that is not easy to do. I am very grateful, thank you everyone.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I ride motorcycles and scuba dive.

Favorite body of water? Why? (Sorry…this is a bit of cheat question.)

Atlantic Ocean! I’ve visited the ocean (mostly in Florida) my whole life and quickly became enamored. I actually got my BS in marine biology because of my love for the ocean.

Dogs or cats?

Dogs

Favorite book, movie or album?

Sooo hard.

Author – Anne Rice

Movie – Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Album – Parachutes by Coldplay

Cook at home, or go out for dinner? What and/or where?

Cook at home, mac and cheese!

What’s the future hold?

Due to the big changes I’ve experienced in my personal life lately, I take it day by day. I’ve been thinking about grad school. In terms of work, I look forward to learning more about the inner workings of the organization and its role in the university community overall. I dream of strengthening the relationships between circulation staff and librarians.