Erin Finn
Photo of Erin Finn
Hi everyone! I’m Erin, and this is my first semester in the DYO program at Simmons, where I’m studying at SLIS West.
I grew up in Massachusetts, western Mass. to be exact! I’m quite happy to be back in the area for graduate school. I did my undergraduate studies all the way in northern New York at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where I studied Flute Performance as well as some Music Business. I’ve always loved libraries and books, but what really spurred my interest into thinking about librarianship as a career path was a library and education internship I did at Goodspeed Musicals in their Scherer Library of Musical Theatre (located in Connecticut!). I learned so much from that experience, and it really planted the seed in my head of combining two of the things that I love, music and libraries. And here I am now!
Outside of grad school, I spend much of my time with music, in one form or another. These days I play the flute for fun. Some days I pull out an old piece from undergrad, and other days I like to just improvise along with some of my favorite songs. If I’m not playing, then I’m usually listening to music or spending time reading and journaling about some of my favorite lyrics. I spend most of this time with BTS’s music, as it’s really poetry in music form, and their lyrics make me think and contemplate different aspects of life. When not immersed in music, I’m either making a bucket list of art exhibits to visit, reading, enjoying the outdoors, or working on language learning (currently studying Spanish and Korean!). Music, being curious in learning, and a warm mug of apple cider on a cold fall day sum me up pretty well.
I’m excited to be writing about my experience at Simmons, and can’t wait to share more throughout my time in the program!
Entries by Erin Finn
To Saturday mornings… Waking up bright and early, stopping for that necessary cup of coffee Driving to class as the sun makes the world just a bit brighter. ~~~ To Saturday mornings… Discussing the sleuthing questions that stumped us that week, Sharing thought processes and delving into animated discussion, Engaged and excited to learn. ~~~ To Saturday mornings… A nice mix between listening and talking, Cogs of my brain turning faster, absorbing what my classmates share. A small group of seven makes class discussion especially fun. ~~~ To Saturday mornings… You’ve become a weekly joy, something to look forward to. As the semester slowly grinds to a stop, I will miss you as we part for a bit. ~~~ To Saturday mornings… The semester is not quite concluded, There’s still some time left.
It’s hard to comprehend just how fast this Fall semester has flown by. I know we aren’t done just yet, but the discussions in my classes are slowly starting to involve final projects and the inevitable last day of the semester. While it’s exciting to be considering classes for next semester, I am going to miss my current schedule that I have become quite used to. Maybe it’s the first semester nostalgia already kicking in before I have completed it…who knows? The exciting thing about a conclusion to the semester is that I get to consider what classes I would like to take next semester, which has always been one of my favorite things to sit down and plan. Even in my undergraduate schooling, I would always get excited when the next semester catalog was released, and I could peruse the offerings to see what might interest me. One of the things that makes this experience especially fun at SLIS is that my program is mostly made up of elective courses, so I really get…
Western Massachusetts is one of my favorite areas to explore in my free time! Maybe I’m a bit biased as I grew up here, but it’s an area rich with history, the arts, beautiful scenery, and plenty of other things to see and do. If you are a student at SLIS West, whether new to the area or visiting to take a library course on the Mount Holyoke campus for the first time, here are some of my recommendations of things to do in the surrounding area near the SLIS West campus! If you enjoy being out in nature, whether that be biking, hiking, walking, or your preferred nature activity, there are many trails and conservation sites to spend some time basking in the outdoors. My personal favorites are the following: Hiking up to the Summit House on top of Mt. Holyoke (if you want to see the beautiful views of the valley, but can’t do the hike, you can drive and park at the top when the road is open). Check out the view…
