Each year, GSLIS gives major awards to graduating students. We've profiled each of the students below on the GSLIS Alumni Profile pages at: http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/people/alumni/profiles/index.php. Many congratulations to each of the award winners and all of this year's GSLIS graduates!
Kenneth R. Shaffer Outstanding Student Award:
Kevin French
Favorite classes: I loved most of them, but after Kathy Wisser's Archival Access and Use, I felt as if my previous learning and internships connected and I actually felt like an archivist. Of course, I could not do without Kathy and Candy's funny cat pictures.
GSLIS involvement: SCoSAA webmaster; student participant on advising days; student rep on the curriculum committee. I attended faculty retreat and raised student concerns about required courses. I regret that I never reported back to the student body about the details of that retreat. My partner and I had to rush off to Canada as I was unable to sponsor him for a Green Card in the US because of the Defense of Marriage Act. I left a lot of unfinished business and never got to say goodbye properly.
What's next?: I am happily working at the medical school of Dalhousie University. I'm mastering new technologies, learning Canadian privacy and records laws, and meeting amazingly friendly people. There is not enough room to thank everyone who helped me get through. I loved the authentic assignments (creating finding aids and MARC records, cracking Ross Harvey's old digital files, writing a grant for Jeannette's class), the dedicated and loving staff (shout-out to Em Claire, Rich, Jen, and everyone else), the faculty who truly love what they do and I loved listening to, and my fellow students (Kate and John, our desperate, late-night cataloging will remain a traumatic, yet fond memory).ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Student Award:
Mark McMahon
The Simmons Student Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) awards an annual prize for service to the chapter and academic achievement in information science. The recipient of this year's award was Mark McMahon.
Favorite classes: Digital Libraries with Candy Schwartz, because it gave me the opportunity to work with great teams to complete an enduring final project, the Bettie Goodrich Digital Scrapbook (http://gslis.simmons.edu/
bettie/). The newly offered internship course with Mary Wilkins Jordan, because it gave me the opportunity to gain work experience while organizing and cataloging a local-history collection at the Holliston Public Library. Advanced Subject Cataloging and Classification with Danny Joudrey was a favorite for the sheer intellectual challenge of it.
GSLIS involvement: Co-chair of our student chapter of ASIS&T in 2010. I helped to organize and sponsor educational and networking events for the GSLIS community. In 2011, as co-VP of LISSA, I assisted in planning for our alternative spring break volunteer efforts at the Mission Hill School in Roxbury. My last project was to work with faculty and staff representatives to implement the new course-evaluation process. In the near future, all the evaluation data for a semester's courses will be available online — this capability is a long-held wish of mine.
What does your job entail?: To use proven, new, and emerging technologies to make information — and information technology — more accessible to everyone. This is almost the definition of a librarian — that's why I feel I have chosen the right profession.Estelle Jussim Award: Caitlin Pereira
The Estelle Jussim Award is given each year to a graduating GSLIS student who has demonstrated great promise in the visual arts. It honors Dr. Estelle Jussim, a GSLIS faculty member who was a distinguished photographic historian and scholar, and who exhibited such professional accomplishments in the visual arts and high academic achievement. GSLIS was pleased to present the 2009 Estelle Jussim award to Sarah Burke.
Favorite classes: That's a tie. I loved Photographic Archives with Martha Mahard. One needs encyclopedic knowledge to keep track of all the photographic formats, and all the problems they present to their caretakers. It was fascinating — and Martha, of course, is a lot of fun. The other took me by surprise: Information Organization. I had no idea I was such a cataloging nerd. Since entering library school I have had more than one friend ask me in the Conan the Librarian voice: "Don't you know the Dewey Decimal system?" (see the video: http://youtu.be/mZHoHaAYHq8). Previously I had only worked in academic libraries that used Library of Congress, but now I can confidently answer that, yes, I know it — and love it.
GSLIS involvement: Sadly, because I worked full time and took two classes a semester, I did not have the opportunity to involve myself in many GSLIS activities other than classes and homework, but being involved with ARLIS and VRA has let me get to know other GSLIS students and alumni outside school.
What's next?: I am lucky enough to already have a job. I run the visual resources department in the library at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. MassArt is a great institution full of inspiring people, and it's a pleasure to support the faculty, staff, and students there. I am up to my eyebrows in art books every day. Gallery visits are a regular lunchtime activity, and that's hard to beat. I hope to expand the visual resource instruction repertoire and continue to develop great resources for our students.
Daniel Fleming Outstanding Student School
Library Teacher Award: Emily Sypole
SLT professor Daniel Fleming was a beloved part of the GSLIS community, which was deeply saddened by his untimely death last fall. The Daniel Fleming Outstanding Student School Library Teacher Award was established in memory of this gifted and inspiring teacher, and it is fitting that the first recipient is Emily Sypole, who says, "I feel truly honored to receive an award in Dan's honor. This award is extra special to me because I had the opportunity to have Dan as a professor and got to know what a truly kind, generous person he was. Dan's enthusiasm and energy about teaching had a lasting impact on me and I plan to take everything I learned from him into my career."
Favorite classes: I enjoyed Children's Literature and Young Adult Literature. One of my favorite aspects of librarianship, especially school librarianship, is the literature component. I liked doing the reading in both courses, and continue to read children's and young adult literature as much as possible.
GSLIS involvement: My first year I was treasurer of MSLA-SIG, and as co-chair this year I helped organize meetings and plan events. MSLA-SIG hosts an annual spring conference, and we put together a successful event this year, with a large turnout. Being a leader helped me build relationships with other students. This year I was also the program assistant for the SLT program, and I have been able to guide students and help them through the program.
What's next?: I will be the librarian at the Alcott Elementary School in Concord, MA. Concord has excellent public schools and I am excited to start my career there. I don't start until September, so I will have the summer to plan my library program. Over the summer, I will be working as the children's branch programs coordinator for the Wellesley Free Library. Throughout my time at GSLIS, I sat at the MSLA-SIG table on Advising Day, and I always gave the same advice: make friends and build relationships with other students as soon as possible. I also encouraged students to attend events and get involved. It was often difficult to balance my responsibilities between school, work, and being a student leader, but I can say that all the hard work was worth it.
GSLIS West Leadership Award: Lexi Walters Wright
This award is given to an outstanding GSLIS West student who best exemplifies the leadership values of academic excellence, community building, service, and commitment to the success of other students and the program. This year's recipient was Lexi Walters Wright.
Favorite classes: Young Adult Literature (with Linda Braun), Digital Preservation (with Ross Harvey), XML (with Kelcy Shepherd), Technology for Information Professionals (with Linnea Johnson). I found the particular technology content of these classes fascinating, and the professors were stellar — completely immersed and respected in their fields and committed to staying current.
GSLIS involvement: I was co-president of LISSA West, 2009-2010. Being primarily based on the west campus afforded me the luxury of having intimate access to a small but sharp, tightly knit crew of classmates and really honing in on what they might be interested in doing as a group. It was rewarding to get to plan social and professional gatherings with folks who were equally as excited as I to delve into the GSLIS community.
What's next?: My immediate project is taking care of my son, Arlo, who was born on May 11, but I'd love to work in an institution that was committed to understanding its patrons' rapidly changing information needs and exceeding their expectations through well curated collections, forward-thinking technology offerings, and inclusive user services. Teen librarian? Digital curator? Emerging tech specialist? I'm eager to dig into the dynamically shifting LIS market. My experience at GSLIS West was filled with extraordinarily talented classmates; I'm hopeful these inspiring folks become colleagues in my next career chapter.