Leadership
Summer Wrap Up and First Week of Classes
Posted September 11, 2024 by Aurora Daniel
It’s so nice to be back at Simmons after a jam-packed summer! I was a fellow for Warrior-Scholar Project, which is a nonprofit that helps veterans and active duty service members transition to college through one to two week bootcamps focused on building core study and writing skills as well as providing information about how to apply to schools. Over the course of the summer I worked at Yale University, the University of Notre Dame, Cornell University, and the The California Institute of Technology. I was a participant way back in 2018 and wouldn’t be in grad school now without it so it was wonderful to be able to give back. Additionally, being a fellow ensured getting some teaching experience under my belt, which was one of my goals for grad school. I led morning study groups and evening college success sessions, helped grade problem sets, and tutored students on their writing and physics. On top of getting to travel and building my professional skills I also made friends and had a lot of fun…
Internship in the Outer Banks: Learning from Leaders
Posted July 18, 2022 by Johnna Purchase
This past week ended with a two-day visit from the Special Collections Section Head for the State Archives of North Carolina, Judy Allen Dodson. Earlier in the week she had led a virtual monthly staff meeting, and I was impressed by how encouraging and supportive she and the rest of the archivists were. They genuinely wanted to learn more about the projects their colleagues across the state were working on and nerded-out together over new acquisitions like a collection of Civil War era photographs and sheet music from a nineteenth century Black composer. Used to the endless complaining and storm-cloud-gathering of department meetings from when I was a high school teacher, the enthusiasm for work and the curiosity about their colleagues took me by surprise. Later that week when Judy came to visit, all of her joy for her work doubled in-person. She took the time to really listen to each staff member, asked detailed questions to understand ways she could better support each member in their specific roles, and added in doses of humor….
Simmons Students Present at Boston College Conference
Posted May 2, 2022 by Johnna Purchase
Over the weekend, the Boston College History Department hosted their first annual graduate student conference entitled “Grad Student Voices.” The student leadership team possessed a simple yet bold vision – a conference for graduate students by graduate students. Especially as a student just finishing her first year of her M.A. in History, I found it refreshing to attend an history conference that uplifted graduate voices rather than relegating their voices – and the students themselves – to the corner. Since the dual degree Archives and History program here at Simmons pairs the M.A. in History as a complement to the M.S. in Archives Management, at times I have struggled to engage with my peers as fellow historians. The dominant attitude is that we are archivists first. And while I take my role as an archivist seriously because of the authority it invests in me in determining what records make it into the archives that future historians will rely on, sometimes I just want to dive deep into the theoretical frameworks and dizzying array of possible…
SLIS Townhalls
Posted February 17, 2022 by Bryanne McArdle
Most of the time when people think about townhalls, espeically now, they are often political events that lead to a lot of talking and side handed comments. But that is never the case with SLIS townhalls. In fact, they are usually the complete opposite. I did not hear about townhalls until I joined SLIS, but not long after, I started to realize how great they are. And last night’s meeting was no exception. For anyone who might not know what a townhall is, traditionally, they are when the voting members of a town meet together in one space and disscuss and vote on issues for their town. I grew up going to many and they have a whole section of literature on them in American politics. If you’re interested in those topics, I highly recommend researching more. SLIS townhall’s follow a similar format, but because we are usually like-minded individuals all associated with SLIS, the usual bad blood between neighbors need not apply. And that’s what makes them so great. While I haven’t always been…
Classes and Events at SLIS
Posted October 17, 2019 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
It’s that time in the semester when all you do is study, eat to take a break from studying, and try to get in some sleep. As a library student in the SLT school library program, I need to start preparing for next semester. Next semester, I will be doing my first of two practicums, which consists of 150 hours of student teaching in an elementary and then high school library. I have the placement school picked out, and in a few weeks the paperwork will begin. With my classmates figuring out their course preferences for Spring 2020 registration that happens in a few weeks, it is nice for me not to have to worry about what courses I will be taking. Those in the School Library Teacher concentration at SLIS plan out their course outline in their first semester, and will stand by that course outline as they make their way through the program. The first course I am taking this spring will be a Writing for Children class in the…
Trying my Hand at Student Leadership
Posted May 13, 2019 by Maria Reilova
Taking online coureses this semester has been really great in terms of flexibility in my schedule for my part-time job, and for my internship, but it has been not so great for socializing and being involved at campus events. Since I did not have to come to campus as often for class or meetings for group projects, I spent way more time these past few months in my bed then I’d like to admit. So to get out of my comfort zone and really try to challenge myself, I decided to run for a leadership position in Panopticon,(the student art librarianship student organization). Which means you can now call me Madame Secretary! I knew I wanted to get more involved since time is going by so fast and I want to experience as much as a can in grad school before it’s over! Panopticon has always been the student group I have been most interested in, and I am so excited to now be a part of their leadership team. Having a background in art…
Student Leadership
Posted March 15, 2019 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
It’s finally Friday! This week was a busy one, starting off on Sunday using Google Docs to be a part of a LISSA (Library and Information Science Student Association) officers meeting. Tuesday was a student leaders meeting, for all officers of the eleven library science student groups. After I got out of the student leaders meeting, I checked my phone to find five emails from my other SCIRRT (student chapter of International Relations Round Table) officers regarding an event we are planning. Wednesday was the most fun of all the meetings, since I got to attend a faculty meeting as a student faculty representative. From there, the week got easier. How did my week get so busy? Well, back in December, a fellow student posted on the SLIS current students Facebook group asking if anyone was interested in being a student faculty representative. I had no idea as part of this position I would be accepting a role as a LISSA officer, or what I would be doing in this role. But my…