See what's new with some fellow SILS alumni through these spotlight Q&A's from the SILS Alumni Association (SILSAA), originally shared through the SILS alumni listserv.
Hillary Fox
MSLS, Class of 2014
Pronouns: she/her/hers
What are you currently doing? Working? Retired? Tell us about you!
I recently started as the Collections & Research Librarian for Agriculture and Environmental Science at NC State. I'm excited to work with researchers and farmers across the state.
What is your fondest memory of SILS?
Maybe not my “fondest” memory but certainly memorable: There was torrential downpour in the Spring of 2014 in Chapel Hill. The bottom of Manning started to flood and it felt like a scene from Titanic.
What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to an incoming or recent SILS grad?
Network! Don’t turn down professional happy hours.
What do you do for fun in your spare time?
Attend food festivals, watch bad reality tv, and monitor severe weather around the world.
What book have you read recently and enjoyed?
Becoming by Michele Obama
Originally shared on the SILS listserv 11/20/2019
Ileana Rodriguez
BSIS, Class of 2005
Pronouns: she/her/hers
What are you currently doing? Working? Retired? Tell us about you!
Working- I currently work at Blackboard, an Ed Tech company supporting their Product Portfolio Strategy. You've probably used our learning management system at some point in your academic career.
What is your fondest memory of SILS?
I feel like we were on the front end of lots of emerging technologies and the beginning of Facebook.
What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to an incoming or recent SILS grad?
Your degree can take you anywhere you want, and gives you a foundation to be highly instrumental serving as a Swiss Army Knife for lots of organizations. I worked in IT Transformations and Change Management in Management Consulting, before I went into Ed Tech Corporate Strategy. Your background gives you lots of skills to propel you into unique experiences, making you an asset to anything you work on.
What do you do for fun in your spare time?
Running ten milers and half marathons, barre, and travel!
What book have you read recently and enjoyed?
Becoming by Michele Obama
Originally shared on the SILS listserv 12/11/2019
Cynthia Thomes
MSLS, Class of 2004
Pronouns: she/her/hers
What are you currently doing? Working? Retired? Tell us about you!
I've been a reference and instruction librarian at the University of Maryland Global Campus for 12 years. I'm the library's liaison to the MBA and doctoral programs. UMGC is a *huge* school—there's about 90,000 students!—so I'm kept pretty busy answering reference questions from students, faculty, and staff and designing instructional web pages, etc.
What is your fondest memory of SILS?
Probably my most vivid—but not necessarily fondest—memory from my time at UNC-CH was the big ice storm in the winter of 2002. My apartment was without power for a week or so, and I remember trying to study by candlelight while wearing multiple layers of clothes.
What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to an incoming or recent SILS grad?
Get as much experience as you can in different work settings. Take advantage of internships if possible. It's good to know what types of jobs are out there and what kinds of jobs might be a good match for your interests and abilities.
What do you do for fun in your spare time?
Read, bake, and travel. (Yeah, I pretty much fit the stereotype. Oh, and I have a cat, too.)
What book have you read recently and enjoyed?
One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America by Gene Weingarten
Originally shared on the SILS listserv 01/02/2020
Alex Harding
MSIS, Class of 2014
Pronouns: he/him/his
What are you currently doing? Working? Retired? Tell us about you!
I am a software developer at RTI International's Center for Data Science. I build general purpose software and web apps for data collection, storage, analysis and visualization across a variety of research spaces at RTI.
What is your fondest memory of SILS?
I had the opportunity to work for the UNC Libraries IT department while at SILS, and spent a summer tracking down old computers and upgrading them. I got to go on scavenger hunts through the Wilson Library archives looking for hidden old computers, and seeing the extent of the special collections housed there was really cool - especially the folk music collection.
What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to an incoming or recent SILS grad?
Treat every new challenge as an opportunity for self improvement. Whether it's learning a new (programming) language, trying a new framework for a language you're already comfortable in, refining your understanding of an existing technology or building tooling to support your workflow, there is always something you can do to add to your skills with every problem you solve.
What do you do for fun in your spare time?
Play board games with friends, read lots of comics, and function as a servitor for a very demanding cat.
What book have you read recently and enjoyed?
I've been on an H.P. Lovecraft binge lately, as I play a lot of board games that use his work as a theme. The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath is a recent favorite.
Originally shared on the SILS listserv 01/23/2020
Sarah McCleskey
MSLS, Class of 1997
Pronouns: she/her/hers
What are you currently doing? Working? Retired? Tell us about you!
I am head of resource & collection services at Hofstra University Library. Hofstra is located on Long Island, about 25 miles east of Manhattan. I live in Astoria (Queens) with my wife (also a librarian!), a dog, and a cat.
My job is to get things to people in ways that are efficient. Whether it's circulation, document delivery, resource sharing, DVDs, streaming licensing ... my units deliver content to users using well-honed workflows and secret library magic. I also serve as Hofstra's go-to for copyright information. I advise faculty and students on copyright and fair use decisions, handle licensing beyond fair use, assist with permissions for publications, and all the other crazy questions one encounters as a copyright advisor. (Example: My department is starting a journal, we're just going to put it on our department web page, okay?)
My professional contributions currently focus primarily on acquisition and management of audiovisual collections. Ask me about streaming video, budget sustainability, collection values, content acquisitions, hosting options, blah blah blah. I love to talk about my favorite project, the Academic Libraries Video Trust (videotrust.org) for crowdsourcing copyright and digitization of VHS content!!!! I also love to talk copyright -- I'm preparing to advocate for a DMCA exception to break encryption for purposes of Section 108 preservation. Exciting, right??
What is your fondest memory of SILS?
I took two cataloging classes with Jerry Saye, an amazing professor; the skills he taught us remain valuable, and I use them pretty much every day! I also remember a class in "Library Effectiveness" where I wrote a paper about usage assessment in academic libraries, particularly examining Kent's Use of Library Materials: The University of Pittsburgh Study (1979) - I enjoyed the class so much but I had no idea that collection assessment would be a huge part of what I do!
What is one piece of advice you’d like to give to an incoming or recent SILS grad?
Work in a library before you start library school.
What do you do for fun in your spare time?
Travel! Most recently we have started to visit northern Scotland regularly. In fact, as often as possible!
What book have you read recently and enjoyed?
I've been enjoying the Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. I commute to work, and audiobooks from NYPL keep me company!
Originally shared on the SILS listserv 02/20/2020
