Approaching the End

Posted December 10, 2021 by William Crouch

It’s less than a week until I’m going to be finished with my time here at Simmons. Reflecting back on where I was when I first came to Simmons and where I am now, it’s almost like night and day. Obviously, the pandemic changed so much for everyone and has really set up a new world to go out into. When I started, I knew so little about archives and library science. I’ve gained enormous experience with metadata, encoding systems and structures, preservation tools, archival processes, and management styles while here at Simmons. There’s so much depth to the archival world and so much to learn even after 2 and a half years of studies that it is honestly astounding when I think about how little I knew back in May 2019. The learning opportunities and experiences that this program has afforded me and taught me have really changed how I approach pretty much everything going forward. It cannot be stressed enough but the faculty here are incredible and have a true vested interest in wanting to help you succeed. Obviously, I’m a little biased, but the behind the scenes staff don’t get enough credit for how much they do to make as smooth a transition as possible into graduate school for students. Everyone from the student activities office, the center for student success, and of course, the admissions office, Lindsey, Jill, Kate, Katie, and Johnna, is of a truly special breed for how much they do to support the entire SLIS structure. Without the help from all those people from the staff, faculty, and my fellow students, (and probably some others I forgot to mention), I honestly would not have been able to make it through the pandemic and I owe them a lifetime of gratitude for everything they have done for me while at Simmons SLIS. Thank you everyone who has read my messy writings on this blog and maybe I’ll see you all later down the road.