The Next Step

Posted November 22, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon

I’m still mired down in final projects and papers, so it while it feels like last week moved very slowly, I oddly remember very little of it. One momentous thing does stand out, however. Remember a few weeks ago when I contemplating switching out of the Archives program only to decide to stay in it? Well, this week I ended up switching out of it after all. That’s right– I’m on the general track now! It’s scary to change the course of my life and career like this, and a little sad too. These feelings are understandable, because I’m giving something up, but that change also allows me to make room for something that’s a better fit for me.

Ultimately, my decision came down to where I saw myself being happier to work every day. During my internship at the Emerson College Digital Archives, I realized how much I missed working, serving, and interacting with people. I have a strong background in hospitality. Actually, I thought it traumatized me and scared me away from wanting to do reference work, but that’s not really the case. So the internship made me think about my past, especially my past as a concierge, and how much I really liked answering people’s questions. Guests came to me seeking information like the public transportation schedule, area hospital hours, town history, local laws, and directions to the restroom. Guess what? Librarians provide that information too! That works out well for me! And I’m not downplaying how complicated librarianship is here with that comparison. I’m just saying information science seems like a logical next step for my professional life, given certain basic similarities it has with my past jobs. It fits well with the career experience I have and what I already know brings me satisfaction.

So now all I have to do, apart from graduate, is start liking cats. Kidding! Just a little bit of library humor for you, which incidentally, is way funnier than archives humor.

It’s also way cuter.