SILS Students Become Spectrum Scholars

Headshots of Ian, Ivy, and Grace — L to R: Ian Wheeler, Ivy Drew, and Grace Villanueva

This year, four students from the UNC School of Information and Library Science were awarded Spectrum Scholarships from the American Library Association. This scholarship program actively recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession and ALA.

In addition to the scholarship, these students are invited to attend the Spectrum Leadership Institute the summer following their first year of study.

The 2024 Spectrum Scholar Recipients are:

Sarah A. Meihui Bernstein
De’Ivyion (Ivy) Emonne Drew
Grace Villanueva
Ian Anthony Wheeler

Ian Wheeler was a public elementary school teacher before coming to SILS to become a school librarian or media coordinator.

“I hope to provide a safe, welcoming, and inclusive space for all children and young adults. Further, I want them to understand the power they have to enact transformational change in their own lives and how information can help them in their pursuits,” said Wheeler.

“I am also a dual-degree student at the School of Government, so I have really enjoyed exploring the intersection of where the two disciplines meet particularly as it relates to service, equity, and community engagement.”

Wheeler said that receiving the ALA scholarship is an honor. “Equally as important, it’s about developing a sense of community and belonging within the library and information science field. It also represents the work that I must do to carve space for future librarians from marginalized backgrounds to feel included and valued.”

De’Ivyion (Ivy) Emonne Drew received her undergraduate degree in art from UNC-CH. Throughout her four years she spent a lot of time in libraries and developed an interest in the profession. She views herself as an artist librarian, and believes that her background in studio art informs her librarian practice, the types of collections she most likes to work with, and the types of sessions she likes to instruct.

“I have enjoyed getting to know my community and be in community with people who are just as passionate about library science. I think the community has been great—all different backgrounds, different states, sometimes it’s a second career, a lot of them are teachers as well, so I learn a lot from them and they just make the classroom experience so worth it,” said Drew.

She hopes to work as an academic librarian and use her background to support students in their artistic careers.

“Getting the Spectrum Scholarship means possibility. I have the ability to attend my first library conferences this year. It is very overwhelming to navigate a space that is full of experienced librarians as a new librarian, so I’m really excited to bond with my cohort and to continue to think about leadership in the American Library Association. I’m excited to think a lot about how I can encourage other folks to feel inspired and join the field.”

Grace Villanueva also looks forward to the impact she will have as a librarian.

“Growing up, my local public libraries were some of my favorite places. Heavily sheltered academically, intellectually, and environmentally—and a Latina growing up in a predominantly white area—libraries as institutions became not only places of safety, knowledge, and exploration, but a means for self-actualization I could not otherwise find,” she said. “Libraries were essential in both comforting and challenging me. Sitting in a beanbag chair in the corner of the stacks with my coveted pile of books, I found people who looked like me and not like me at all, people who thought like me and not like me at all, and I developed an appreciation for and insistence on a constantly broadening perspective.”

Villanueva is grateful for the financial support and the community she’ll join as a Spectrum Scholar. “I’m excited about the orchestrated and built-in affordances of the program, like the Spectrum Leadership Institute and ALA membership. These will allow me to connect with seasoned professionals in the field who can provide invaluable guidance as I navigate my career path and get practical insight from others into implementing diverse values and initiatives in library spaces. I look forward to using the priceless insights and opportunities of the Spectrum program to grow to be a better activist, advocate, and source of access, knowledge, and opportunity for others.”