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Student Employee Profile: Allison Holtzman

October 2, 2017 by Amanda VerMeulen

Allison Holtzman

Image credit: A VerMeulen Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Allison Holtzman has been working at the Library for a while now. The senior English major, with minors in Philosophy and Spanish, has been serving the SMCM community as a Circulation student employee since her sophomore year.

Originally from Parkville, Maryland, Allison came to St. Mary’s in part because her older brother was an SMCM student at the time (class of 2015). Though the family connection helped, ultimately Allison selected St. Mary’s thanks to the beautiful natural setting.

Studying abroad during her Junior year, Allison was able to work toward her goal of becoming fluent in Spanish in the picturesque surroundings of Granada, Spain. There, Allison was able to fully embrace her dual desires for a calm and relaxing natural environment and the vibrant culture that comes with city life. In Granada, she was able to enjoy the perks of city living, while also being able to explore the beautiful countryside just outside the city limits.

As someone with a variety of interests, Allison’s academic work at St. Mary’s reflects her curiosity. In addition to gaining important writing and communication skills, she enjoys learning about and discussing critical theories surrounding ethics, race, gender, feminism, and Marxism – concepts introduced through her studies in English and Philosophy. Allison plans to complete an SMP through the English department exploring how slam and spoken word poetry act as a means of resistance by interviewing feminist poets at the forefront of the movements in Baltimore, MD and Ferguson, MO.

The family connection came into play again when it was time to find a campus job. Allison’s brother was also a Circulation student employee during his time at SMCM, and recommended Allison to Linda Russell, the Daytime Circulation Supervisor. When at the Library, Allison’s favorite thing about her job is shelving the books. The meditative activity requires a focus and attention to detail that she finds very calming. On top of the relaxing aspect of shelving the books, Allison enjoys learning about the books in the Library as she puts them away.

After graduation, Allison plans on eventually going to grad school for a Masters in Social Work while working in Baltimore. Long term, she would like to live in New York City, which would be ideal for Allison, with it’s melting pot of cultures and combination of city life and culture and parks and green spaces.

Filed Under: Library People, Student Employees Tagged With: featured, student workers

SMCM LAMC Student Employee Class of 2017

May 3, 2017 by Amanda VerMeulen

The SMCM Library, Archive & Media Center Student Employee Class of 2017 had the opportunity to select a book from the collection that was meaningful to them during their time at St. Mary’s. They then posed for a portrait with that book and shared a bit about why it’s important to them.
Not pictured:
Mariam Adeyemo; Biology, major; WGSX, minor
Matthew Riedel; History & Religious Studies, major
Ian Scribner; Computer Science, major; Mathematics, minor
Gabe York; Chemistry, major

Ashley Dam Anthropology (Major) Sociology (Minor) V for Vendetta This book taught and continues to remind me how powerful resistance can be. It embodies the idea that the world may be a cruel and unnerving place, but there can be hope in the outspokenness of even a single person. As a result, I'll always be fighting and I'll never stop resisting.

Michael Donahue Economics Major, Computer Science Minor The Picture of Dorian Gray Honestly, I was taken in by Wilde's cautionary tale. Innocence can give rise to temptation, which in turn can usher in cruelty and avarice. I like to think there's a little bit of Dorian Gray in all of us, at least sometimes.

Maggie Foust Major: Film and Media Studies, Minor: English Blankets I chose Blankets because it is a beautiful coming of age story and I read it at a time when I was coming of age. You should read this if you want a heart-warming story of first love and growing up.

Jazzie Gray Anthropology Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins Upon reading this book I have had only minimal language to articulate and express theoretically what its like to live as a Black Female within the United States. Patricia Hill Collins work has opened my eyes to the same world but with a different lens. A lens that has resculpted the way I think, behave, listen, and interact with the world. Black feminist thought is not just a book for Black women, or Black people. It is a book for all to read, to dive into and rewire the way we have been socialized to think and behave.

Matthew Jeffers History Economics Nixonland Nixonland describes a monumental time in American history through a compelling and gripping narrative, seamlessly marshalling hundreds of sources to paint a comprehensive picture of 1960s and 1970s American society and politics. This book is a must read for any aficionado or aspiring student of American history and played a critical role in my intellectual and academic development.

Salina Kidane Psychology with minors in Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGSX) studies and Neuroscience The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi I chose Persepolis because it was the first novel I read that discussed the life a Muslim woman outside of only American history that I was taught growing up. I got to learn more about the Islamic revolution and it's effect on the Iranians through the eyes of a once young Satrapi.

Miranda McLain Political Science & English major, Educational Studies minor Beyond the Arab Spring, Authoritarianiam & Democratization in the Arab World Throughout my academic career, I have always been interested in learning more about the Arab Spring, specifically of it's effects in Egypt. I have used the book "Beyond the Arab Spring, Authoritarianism & Democratization in the Arab World" for many different research projects, and I have to say it was the most helpful in teaching me more about the topic that I have always been so interested in.

Ivan Messi Political science The Book of Joy Power and money fail to bring inner peace. Outward attainment will not bring real inner joyfulness. We must look inside

Oyin Odulaja Biology major, Neuroscience minor Privilege, Power, and Difference I selected this book because ever since I first read it during my first-year seminar with the DeSousa Brent Scholars Program, it has really deepened my understanding of systems that perpetuate inequality and oppression in today's world. I love how Dr. Johnson not only sheds light on these concepts but also shares how we can create positive change. Finally, I loved getting to hear him speak on our campus!

Fenguese Pierre Biology and Sociology The Discovering Society of Society This book has had a tremendous impact in my study of sociology. It presents the major sociological theories in an engaging and comprehensive manner.

 

Terrance Ward Religious Studies (major), WGSX and Philosophy (minors) Fun Home I chose Fun Home because it represents the way literature has contributed to my growth as an individual on this campus. I love this book for so many reasons, but primarily because it helped me feel normal and connected to the LGBTQIA+ community in a way I hadn't before. I read Fun Home at a crucial point in my development as a queer person and still feel its impact today.

Filed Under: Library People, Student Employees Tagged With: featured, student workers

Student Employee Profile: Jazzie Gray

March 24, 2017 by Amanda VerMeulen

If you’ve spend any time in the Media Center lab on the third-floor of the Library, chances are good you already know Jazzie Gray.

Image credit: A VerMeulen Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Originally from Baltimore, Jazzie grew up all over the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, living in North Carolina and Virginia before moving back to Baltimore to finish high school. St. Mary’s wasn’t on Jazzie’s radar when initially looking for colleges (she was looking at her “dream schools,” like NYU), but came to SMCM after learning about it from her Aunt. She credits living in rural North Carolina as a kid with helping her acclimate to campus life here, where she has made friends in many different social groups and student clubs including BSU, Burlesque, and Latinos Unidos.

As a senior Anthropology major, Jazzie’s capstone project analyses how women of color are represented (and misrepresented) in media, through the lens of the top 25 highest rated television shows of all time. In addition, she’s working on an independent oral history project interviewing persons of color and persons of other among students, faculty, and staff on the SMCM campus. Created in reaction to the racist incidents on campus in 2016, this project will record the voices of people who are often not heard on campus and publicize their experiences, which are often overlooked. Jazzie plans to project these interviews on the side of different academic buildings around campus.

Jazzie began working at the Media Center in the summer of her first year. After seeing the Media Center on a tour as a part of the DeSousa-Brent Scholars program, got the job thanks in part to her honest resume that included items like “part-environmentalist” and “pretty good whistler” to make us for limited job experience. Her favorite thing about working at the Media Center is all the free donut Justin and Raven bring in! But on top of all the free donuts, by working at the Media Center Jazzie has gained technical software skills and honed her communication skills through working with all the different students, faculty, and staff that come to the MC. On any given shift, you can find her teaching students how to use the software and equipment, or singing and dancing.

Post-graduation, Jazzie is looking for a job where she can apply all the knowledge and skills gained in her career at St. Mary’s. An ideal job would draw not only on her Anthropology degree, but also the technical and teaching skills learned at the Media Center, and the interpersonal skills gained through her involvement with many student clubs over the years. Eventually, Jazzie would like to go to grad school and work in a cross-cultural studies field, but right now she’s focused on the post-SMCM job search.

Filed Under: Library People, Student Employees Tagged With: featured, student workers

Meet Kate Pitcher – Director of the Library, Archives & Media Center

March 20, 2017 by Amanda VerMeulen

We’re happy to finally introduce our awesome new director Kate Pitcher! Please give a (belated) welcome when you see her around campus!


Kate Pitcher

In July 2016, I became the Director of the Library, Archives, and Media Center here at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Prior to SMCM, I was the interim Director of Milne Library at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Geneseo.

I’ve worked in many different library capacities; including public libraries (I worked for the NYPL branch libraries for a spell) and in academic libraries doing collection development, instruction, government documents, web development, and as head of digital scholarship and publishing. In the latter capacity, I served as the Project Manager for Digital Thoreau, a collaborative digital project which encompassed a social reading platform for Thoreau’s works, a fluid text edition of Thoreau’s Walden manuscripts, and an Omeka digital collection collecting and studying the work and contributions of noted Thoreau scholar, Dr. Walter Harding.

Prior to SMCM, I was also the principal investigator of the grant-funded Open SUNY Textbooks project, which studied how libraries and colleges could develop services and infrastructure to support faculty development of open educational resources, open textbooks, and open pedagogy surrounding classroom teaching and learning. My research and writing interests are in these areas of open digital publishing and changing scholarly communication practices, as well as how libraries are evolving to assist faculty and their institutions in meeting the challenges of a digital, networked, and open academy. I’m also fascinated by the economics of information and the increasing need for democratic and sound information technology and public policy, especially as it relates to higher education.

I’m a native New Yorker (upstate, that is!) and so I’m used to snow, but really excited about being in a southern climate during the winter. I have three children, all in elementary school; one husband; three guinea pigs and a cat. When I have free time I like to read, swim, kayak, and bike. I’m also a politics junkie, so being this close to D.C. is a wonderful turn of events.

Filed Under: Library People Tagged With: featured

Student Employee Profile: Maggie Foust

February 21, 2017 by Amanda VerMeulen

Maggie at the check out desk

Image credit: A VerMeulen Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Senior Maggie Foust is a familiar face at the SMCM Library circulation desk.

Growing up in both College Park and Annapolis (right on the water!), Maggie came to SMCM as an alternative to the large state schools too close to home. (And it didn’t hurt that she had older friends who were already St. Mary’s students.) Despite growing up on the water, the river setting wasn’t a draw for Maggie, who prefers to look at the water but doesn’t enjoy doing “water things.”

As a Film and Media Studies major, with an English minor, Maggie is currently finishing an SMP creating a podcast series that looks at female sexuality in horror, drama, and teen films, with all episodes posted on SoundCloud. Maggie was drawn to film studies not just because she likes movies, but because she believes it’s important to critically analyze what you like and understand why you enjoy it and to be more observant and understanding of the world around you.

If you’ve been to the library at all in the last three years, you’ve probably received Maggie’s enthusiastic help at the circulation desk, where she’s worked since the first semester of her sophomore year. Knowing people who already worked at the circulation desk, when she needed a job it was an easy decision where to apply. Her favorite part of working here? Getting to work with the “nicest people in the world.” Maggie also appreciates how caring her supervisor and coworkers are, how they’re there for each other and how they work together to accommodate and cover for each other when someone is sick.

Maggie will continue in the library field, having participated in a microinternship program this winter. Working with an SMCM alum at the Anne Arundel Public Library Headquarters sparked an interest in Outreach Librarianship in public libraries. Maggie enjoys the overlap between social work and librarianship when it comes to being on the ground and working in and with communities. She’ll pursue that passion in library school; after being accepted to both Simmons and Drexel, she will start a Library Science master’s program this fall at Simmons in Boston.

Filed Under: Library People, Student Employees Tagged With: featured, student workers

Student Employee Profile: Ivan Messi

December 13, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

Ivan Messi

Image credit: A VerMeulen Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

If you received any mail related to the recent St. Mary’s Gives fundraising campaign, you probably saw Library student worker Ivan Messi featured!

Born in Cameroon, Ivan almost went to Mount St. Mary’s instead of SMCM, but transferred at the last minute thanks to the scholarship he received through the DeSousa-Brent Scholars Program. Ivan is currently a Senior Political Science major interested in business and entrepreneurship, working on both a Senior Seminar and independent study project. Though he was planning on studying computer science at the beginning of his college career, Ivan was drawn to political science because of the willingness to talk about difficult issues in class and not shy away from tough topics.

He began working at the Library as a circulation assistant his sophomore year, in 2014. Though he was initially looking for any open positions on campus, Ivan enjoys the relaxed atmosphere working in the Library offers and a flexible work schedule that helps him manage class, studying, and rugby team, which he has been on since his first year at St. Mary’s. But his favorite part of his job is interacting with people and helping to get them started with their research, no matter what they are studying.

 

Filed Under: Library People, Student Employees Tagged With: student workers

Library Student Workers Present Research This Friday!

November 30, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

Join Library student workers Mariam Adeyemo and Salina Kidane and their colleagues in NEURO 370 (Neuroscience of Sex, Gender and Sexuality) this Friday, Dec 2 from 3-4:30pm in Glendening Annex for their final research presentations on the intersections between Sex, Gender, Culture, and Neuroscience.

neur370_presentations

Filed Under: Library People, Student Employees Tagged With: announcements

Library Comm[unity] Graduates

October 19, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

library employee comm[unity] graduates
From left to right (name, office):
Veronica Arellano Douglas, Research Librarian, Library 127
Kat Ryner, Associate Director, Library 225
Amanda VerMeulen, Research Librarian, Library 125
Alan Lutton, Office Administrator, Library 236

Filed Under: Library People Tagged With: featured

Library Student Worker Named Point News Editor-in-Chief

October 19, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

Student worker Miranda McLainLibrary student worker Miranda McLain was recently named the Point News Editor-in-Chief. At the Point News, she has work her way up from assistant editor as a first year student, to Arts and Entertainment editor, and finally Editor-in-Chief.

Miranda is currently a Senior English and Political Science double major, with a minor in Ed. Studies, working on an SMP to write a series of political, creative non-fiction, long form articles in which she interviews campus speakers and alumni to find out how their college experiences led them to their current field.

Miranda has worked in the Library as a circulation assistant since Fall of 2015. She volunteered at her school library in high school and thought the SMCM Library job would be a great way to stay involved on campus as a commuter student.

As a student worker, Miranda enjoys getting to talk to a lot of different people, and learning about the wide variety of classes and SMP topics while she helps people search for books in the collection.

 

 

Filed Under: Library People, Student Employees Tagged With: featured, student workers

Library, Archives, and Media Center Statement of Solidarity

April 15, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

For more information and to see statements from other campus departments and groups:
Support & Solidarity for SMCM Students: Information and Resources
http://libguides.smcm.edu/support-and-solidarity


 

 

We are part of a community that values: intellectual, creative, and scholarly exploration; the power of a diverse community; and relationships built on mutual respect, integrity, and trust. We also live in the real world, and we believe that by engaging in ongoing dialogue, our community can shape the changing world. We can try to make this world a better place.

As a library, we have a responsibility to be a space welcome to all, where the free access to information and the free expression of ideas foster and encourage open discourse in our community. As members of the St. Mary’s community, we recognize the important difference between expression of a dissenting point-of-view and expression meant to belittle, dehumanize, and harm others.

We in the library, archives, and media center condemn the recent events at the Natty Boh hunt and all previous incidents of bigotry, bias, harassment, and hate speech that have occurred on campus and through various social media outlets. These actions are antithetical to what we want our college and our community to be. We stand in solidarity with our students who are targets of hateful speech and actions.

 

Veronica Arellano Douglas
Curtis Barclift
​Cheryl Colson
​Justin Foreman
Raven Glidden
Conrad Helms
Bonnie Kangas
Alan Lutton
Pamela Mann
Alex McGough
Carol Morris
Kenneth O’Connell
Celia Rabinowitz
Kent Randell
​Brenda Rodgers
Linda Russell
Katherine Ryner
Rob Sloan
​Joe Storey
Amanda VerMeulen

Filed Under: Library People Tagged With: featured

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