First Semester as LISSA President In the Books

Posted May 13, 2025 by Aurora Daniel

As I wrap up finals, my library shifts dwindle until my summer internship starts, and I attend my last meetings about student engagement, I find myself wanting to reflect on my most productive and busy semester at Simmons. Way back in January I was elected to be the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA for short) president at SLIS. LISSA serves as the umbrella organization for all student orgs at SLIS. As LISSA president in many ways I serve as the student body president of SLIS. I attend various meetings with SLIS faculty and administration, other centers at Simmons, and even the Simmons University Board of Trustees where I serve as the voice for the SLIS student experience.

Additionally, LISSA itself is an organization so I plan and host events, create and send out the “This Week at SLIS” email newsletter, and oversee our Instagram. Some of the events LISSA has held this semester were selling SLIS t-shirts, a movie night for “Google and the World Brain,” a study break event in the Simmons Makerspace, and our Graduation in a Box event where we send out packages to online students who can’t make it to Commencement. I also provide training and support for other student org leaders. As a result, I meet once a week with the MS LIS Program Director to talk about issues that come up and how to support student leaders as well as host monthly student org leadership meetings.

This semester I’ve had two main projects: creating the LISSA Google Site and working with the MS Program Program Director to make a new student leader handbook. The Google site is completely done, which I’m incredibly proud of. It’s a fantastic resource for current students to use to see what events LISSA is holding, find info on campus resources, or learn more about student organizations. It’s unfortunately only accessible for those who have Simmons accounts so for prospective students you’re not able to see it. As LISSA did not have a webmaster this semester I made the Google site after the SLIS Tech Fellow transferred the old WordPress site over. I was surprised by how much fun I had working on the website and it was really helpful for preparing me to do the SLIS Student Advisory Board website.

As for the student leader handbook, the MS Program Director and I are in the initial stages of updating language and creating the new workforce for student orgs. We’re going to complete it over the course of the fall semester so that the incoming student leadership in January 2026 will have it as a resource. This is especially important for orgs that have been inactive, as I’ve sort of created a blueprint for reviving them with Panopticon, another organization I chair, because I want SLIS to return to the days of robust peer-led programming. I believe student leadership isn’t just something to stick on a resume but is meant to be altruistic. So much of the work that I’m doing is about helping current and future students and, beyond pushing me out of my comfort zone or helping me gain or hone skills, I don’t really get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. However, there is satisfaction in being able to make SLIS a bit better for the next group of students and to be able to help rebuild student leadership and engagement on campus.

Beyond these projects I’ve also served as the Chair of the SLIS Student Advisory Board (SSAB). This is part of the role of the LISSA president, but I would’ve been interested in being involved regardless as I was an SSAB member in 2024 and it’s part of why I ran for LISSA president this year. Essentially, the SSAB provides and gathers feedback on ways that the SLIS administration can improve the student experience. Some past projects have been improving the advising process, thinking about how to make course evaluations meaningful for students, and, of course, this Spring’s project of how to improve communications with students such as email, social media, and webinars.

The SSAB is a great leadership position with a low amount of commitment (only two meetings per semester, plus an optional meeting with the SLIS administration). It provides a lot of insight into what students are struggling with and how the SSAB can be more effective to meet both administration and student needs. While I am looking forward to my break from student leadership over the summer, it’s been invigorating to lead LISSA and the SSAB. I’m proud of all that I accomplished this semester and I’m looking forward to applying the lessons learned from both mistakes and successes towards programming and advocacy this fall. For now, it’s time for some summer reading!