What did you major in/are you majoring in at UWT? I majored in IAS: Arts, Media, and Culture and graduated from UWT in 2013. I then went to UW Seattle to get my Masters of Library and Information Science in 2015.
What’s your relationship to the UWT? I am an alum, and a full time librarian here. I was a non-traditional student while I attended UWT, working full time and going to school full time, so I am happy to get to be back as permanent staff, working with students who are navigating the same system.
What drew you to working in libraries? I believe that knowledge is power and access to information is a social justice issue. While working in a job I didn’t like, I took an introduction to library science class from Highline College (Highline Community College at the time) and knew that this was something I wanted to do, at which time I applied to UWT to complete my bachelors with the plan of going on for my MLIS afterwards. I love that libraries all about connecting people with information of all kinds.
What parts of your job are you most excited about? I love the weird and strange things I get to learn as part of my job. It is a ton of fun to go down information rabbit holes because someone asked me a question. A great example, I recently learned a lot about the ruin follies, fake castle ruins, that popped up all over Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s a weird piece of information that I wouldn’t have had any reason to explore if it hadn’t been for a question.
Have you read anything good lately? I’m one of the co-facilitators for the Real Lit[erature] Book Club, and this quarter we read The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater. It was incredibly well written, and dealt with some big issues around hate crimes, the prison industrial complex, and gender identities. It was a great read, and UW has it for check out. Next we’re going to read Darius the Great is Not Okay.
Any advice for UWT students? There are so many resources on campus, and they can be hard to navigate and overwhelming. Ask for help, wherever you are at. It might not be the right office or department, but we will help you find what you need.
