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MLIS student

Q: Please share any additional academic plans (dual degree, research focus, minor, specialization, etc.) you may be pursuing.

A: I am focusing on a mix of courses from both the Knowledge Organization and Digital Librarianship career pathways.

Q: Please tell us about your background and why you decided to come to the iSchool.

A: I wasn't exposed to librarianship as a profession until I applied for and received a fellowship from the Association of Research Libraries during my second year of undergrad at Washington State University. This was what drew me into librarianship. Being a first-generation college student, I had a limited scope of what career I could go into by studying Sociology, but after that fellowship came another and another. This fellowship was pivotal because one of the requirements was to attend a symposium where Professors Michelle Martin and Sandy Littletree were panelists presenting to my cohort. I was deeply inspired by both of them and my research of the UW iSchool began confirming to me that my next steps were to get my master's and become a librarian. I chose the UW iSchool because Dr. Cheryl Metoyer personally called me and told me that even though the LIS Native community is small now, it doesn't mean it can't support me on my educational and professional journey and that I can support others just like me.

Q: What excites you about the information field?

A: Information surrounds us in every aspect of our lives, but how we interpret, consume, share, and protect or restrict information is what excites me. The opportunities to help others learn and access information, especially when it's about themselves or their community, can be empowering. By pursuing a career in academic libraries, I get to add to the pool of mentorship and help someone who has faced similar challenges to me growing up. As a city reconnecting Native, I can understand the feeling of being a part of a community but feeling excluded within that same community. But now I get to use my experiences and point of view of intersecting marginalized identities to promote inclusivity and accessibility within the academic library community. 

Q: What’s been your favorite iSchool course or learning experience (i.e. directed fieldwork, research project, etc.)?

A: Indigenous Systems of Knowledge with Dr. Miranda Belarde-Lewis has been my favorite course thus far in the program. I took it in fall 2022 in person, and the discussions with my classmates and instructor were incredibly rich and heedful of what Indigenous knowledge is and can be. The course content allowed me to dive deeper into what it means to care for, consume (if at all), and respect knowledge that is outside the binary of eurocentric, western information, all while validating Indigenous knowledge. One of my favorite works was created out of this course where for the final project, I created a zine titled, "Nothing About Us Without Us." It includes poetry, hand-drawn illustrations, and a reflective piece about key course themes such as relationality, challenging eurocentric protocols, and representation in space. This course was the gate that frames how I navigate and process my experiences at the iSchool. It also strengthened my foundation and passion for working with Indigenous knowledge and data, which encouraged me to apply for my current research assistant position working with Dr. Carole Palmer, Dr. Miranda Belarde-Lewis, Dr. Sandy Littletree and Dr. Nic Weber.

Q: Tell us about an experience you’ve had at the iSchool that has informed or reshaped your career goals.

A: Taking several tech classes at the iSchool as part of the MLIS program technology core requirement has helped me narrow down the scope of jobs that I believe I would be good at. These classes have allowed me to figure out my strengths and what I’m passionate about within the field of MLIS. 

Q: What about your iSchool journey thus far are you most proud of?

A: I’m proud of being named an ALA Spectrum Scholar during my time at the iSchool. To know that there’s a cohort in the information profession that is really supportive and wants to uplift folks from historically underserved communities has empowered me in my education. The American Library Association has served as a reminder of the bigger goal of helping others that I am applying myself for and has encouraged me to keep going when school gets hard because it’s not just about me, but about the communities and other folks who need to learn how to access information safely. 

Q: What is next on the horizon for you?

A: Ideally, I would love to stay in the Pacific Northwest for a bit and experience more of what it has to offer, but honestly, I will go where I am needed. I can always return and make Seattle (or greater Washington) home again. I am interested in knowledge management and organization, meticulous metadata, special collections, and digitization work!

Q: What’s the best advice you have ever received? 

A: The best advice I have ever received is a quote I heard from one of my good friends, Samantha Reyes, and it was, “Don’t fight for a seat at the table, but fight to dismantle the table.” This is an especially powerful quote in the context of inclusivity because we often think of inclusivity as getting to be a part of something when in reality we should be thinking about why those barriers and separations that exclude certain people exist in the first place. It's a great reminder that the addition of our own thoughts and perspectives enriches and broadens the experience for everyone.