Get to know Thomas Mukonde, MS student

This week the University of Illinois celebrates both Graduate Student Appreciation Week and International Week. At GSLIS, we are proud of all our students and our international connections, including faculty, research fellows, scholars-in-residence, and students like Thomas Mukonde, who hails from Zambia.

ThomasM_150dpi.jpg?itok=Lfgiz5KQ Why did you decide to pursue an LIS degree?

I decided to do an LIS degree because I have always been interested in helping people. My first job out of college was elementary school teaching. While I enjoyed this greatly, I wanted to pursue a profession that has broader application to the education and empowerment of young people in various contexts. This led me to working for a nonprofit that develops libraries for children in African countries. I'm currently working toward a youth services certificate.

Why did you choose GSLIS?

I chose to come to GSLIS at the suggestion of my boss and mentor at my previous job. GSLIS has a reputation for excellent LIS scholarship and particular strengths in youth services. It has also consistently been the top-ranked LIS school in the United States.

What particular LIS topics interest you most?

I like thinking about information behavior, in particular among the youth. Additionally, I'm interested in media literacy and library instruction.

What do you do outside of class?

I like relaxing with a group of friends after a busy week and attending musical shows around Urbana-Champaign.

What career plans or goals do you have?

I'd like to work to strengthen youth services librarianship in Africa following my work at GSLIS.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Get to Know Madeleine Wolske, director

Madeleine Wolske (MSLIS ’16) took an unconventional path from her master’s in LIS to her current role as the director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. She credits the iSchool for giving her experience in market research, data storytelling, and community informatics that provided the foundation she has built her career upon.

Madeleine Wolske

Hassan selected for IAPP Westin Scholar Award

PhD student Muhammad Hassan has been selected as an IAPP Westin Scholar Award honoree. The annual awards were created by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) to support students who are identified as future leaders in the field of privacy and data protection. 

Muhammad Hassan

iSchool to present research at the Digital Humanities 2025 conference

iSchool faculty, staff, and students will present their research at DH2025, the annual conference of the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO), which will take place on July 14–18 in Lisbon, Portugal. The digital humanities (DH) conference is the largest event of the international DH community and unites scholars from across the globe. 

Zalot defends dissertation

PhD candidate Andrew Zalot successfully defended his dissertation, "'Tweet of the Town:' Synthesizing Local and Social Media Discourse on Book Bans," on July 3.

Andrew Zalot