MS/LIS student Mia Adams' work with local and international nonprofits has earned her a Special Recognition in Graduate Student Leadership from the Graduate College at Illinois. Adams serves as director of development and board member for Three Spinners, a nonprofit organization serving refugees and immigrants in the Champaign-Urbana community.
"In addition to filling everyday needs like disseminating information within the organization, our projects, and the community, I have been very fortunate to gain the opportunity to help instigate a new service for immigrants and refugees. Working under the authority of several local practicing attorneys, one other board member and I have been coordinating pro-bono legal clinics for local families and individuals," said Adams of her involvement with Three Spinners.
Her interest in learning about other cultures and languages was nurtured after a three-month trip to East and South Africa during her gap year before graduate school. Adams earned her MA in African studies from Illinois and has served as the president of a nongovernmental organization that works with women and girls in the areas of health and education in East Africa.
Adams' decision to earn an LIS degree was strongly influenced by her father, Paul Adams, who served as the iSchool's director of community networking in the 1990s and 2000s.
"My father always encouraged me to tack on an LIS degree to whatever career I chose. He would always emphasize how relevant and versatile the degree is, so I knew that I would pursue an LIS degree eventually," said Adams.
Paul played a key role in the School's public engagement efforts, including serving as director of Prairienet, Champaign-Urbana's first community information network. His many projects included collaboration with the African islands of Sao Tome and Principe to build computer labs in schools, libraries, and government offices and to provide technical training that empowered local residents.
In his first years as director of Prairienet, he took iSchool students and faculty, and his wife and two daughters, to East St. Louis to build computer labs in community spaces. Spread out over the course of several years, this work is something Mia looks back on with great joy, and she sees the parallels between that volunteer work when she was a child, and the work she currently does in the community.
"Following in my father's footsteps, I am most interested in serving marginalized groups through digital and media literacy programming. My focus during my studies has been community engagement and community informatics," she said.
Her father passed away suddenly in the summer of 2018, but not before they found out she had been admitted to the iSchool.
"I am thankful every day that I got to share this joy with him," said Adams.
After earning her MS/LIS next month, she plans to take a gap year to rest, work, and save money for an advanced degree in social work from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
"My ultimate goal is to work with nonprofit organizations creating digital literacy programming for marginalized populations. I have a strong passion for working specifically with women and children, immigrants, and refugees, but I would be happy working with any marginalized groups, so long as I can help people seek educational opportunities and self-enlightenment through the development of digital literacy skills," she said.