Life After Graduation

Posted May 24, 2016 by Jill Silverberg

This past Friday something incredible happened: I graduated from Simmons with a Masters in Library and Information Science. Three years, seven semesters (including one summer session), and two internships later, I have emerged from the other side with my shiny degree in hand ready to take on the professional world. Huzzah!

And yet, here I am, still blogging for SLIS. Just when I thought my time with SLIS had reached its end, I was asked if I wanted to continue blogging for the program over the course of the summer. Having done so for the past two summers, I was happy to take on the challenge. Submitting posts for the SLIS student experience blog has been apart of my Boston life since moving here in the Fall of 2013. It’s really fun to go back and read old posts and see how far I’ve come since then.

But enough reminisces, let’s talk about what I have in store for this summer.

This summer I have two major projects to tackle. The first will be completing my History thesis. That corner will be turned on July 1st and I have to say, it is coming up fast. While my thesis is written in its entirety, I am coming to the end of my first of two the revision phases.

Here’s a tip for those who will be working on their thesis this coming fall: don’t be ashamed of taking an extension if you need one. I had to take a few extra weeks due to multiple factors, one of which being a medical emergency. Having a few extra weeks has allowed me to give my thesis the attention it needs to make it great.

The second project for the summer is the completion of a research project for a fellowship through the Nichols House Museum in Beacon Hill. This project will include the creation of an original piece of research that relates to the Nichols House’s collection, which is primarily composed of papers from the Nichols family. The museum is the family of the Nichols family who lived in Beacon Hill from 1885 to 1960. There is a lot of history there and I highly recommend stopping by the museum and taking the tour. At this time, I am in the early phases of assessing the collection and narrowing down my project ideas. I can assure you that I will try to include food in it, somehow.

Apart from these two projects, I will be continuing to work as a reference assistant at MCPHS and will be working a few library related projects there. It seems like my post-SLIS summer is going to be quite a doozy. I can’t wait to share my experiences with you!

For those interested in learning more about the Nichols family and the museum, click here!