Leija named CLA Begun Scholar

Luisa Leija

The California Library Association (CLA) has named MS/LIS online (Leep) student Luisa Leija the 2021 recipient of the Begun Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes a graduate student who shows a strong commitment to youth services librarianship in California public libraries. Leija will receive $3,000 and a one-year student membership to CLA.

Leija earned her BA in Chicana/o studies with an emphasis in Xicana art history from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in writing from the California College of the Arts. She has worked in youth development and outside-of-school-day programming for over 17 years.

Leija, who is also a 2020-2021 ALA Spectrum Scholar, would like to become a youth services librarian after earning her MS/LIS degree and continue her work with youth and families.

"I'm so honored to receive this award and be recognized by CLA. I can't wait to continue working with the talented youth professionals in California and be inspired by the brilliance of young people across the state," she said.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Get to Know Fi Keane, MSLIS Student

MSLIS student Fi Keane found their way to the iSchool after working in the children’s section of a bookstore. For the past academic year, they have served as the graduate assistant for Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, a peer-reviewed, open access, academic journal hosted by the iSchool’s Center for Children’s Books.

Fi Keane

Kaushik defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Smirity Kaushik successfully defended her dissertation, "Digital Trust, Safety, and Privacy in the Age of Emerging Technologies," on June 16. 

Smirity Kaushik

Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub wins Synergy Award

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) has won the Synergy Award from the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST). The MBDH is a partnership of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University, Iowa State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, and the University of North Dakota. It is part of the National Science Foundation’s regional Big Data Innovation Hubs program that comprises offices in the Midwest, West, South, and the Northeast. 

Kelly Desino, scientific director of AbbVie's Community of Science, presenting the Synergy Award from the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST) to Professor Cathy Blake.

New project improves accessibility of health information through AI

Assistant Professor Yue Guo has received a $30,000 Arnold O. Beckman Research Award from the U of I Campus Research Board for her project, "Optimizing Personalization in Plain Language Summaries: Comparing Predictive and Interactive Approaches for Tailored Health Information." 

Yue Guo