Serna selected as Kaleidoscope Scholar

Andrea Serna

MSLIS student Andrea Serna has been selected to participate in the 2023-2025 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Kaleidoscope Diversity Scholars Program. With the goal of attracting MSLIS students from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to careers in research libraries and archives, the Kaleidoscope Program offers financial support to scholars as well as leadership development through the ARL Annual Leadership Symposium, a formal mentoring program, career placement assistance, and a site visit to an ARL member library.

Serna is a first-generation student who received her BA in history with minors in Spanish and sociology at DePaul University, where she discovered her passion for oral histories and the agency they provide historically marginalized communities to share their lived experiences. For her senior capstone, she researched the Bracero Program and Mexican laborer experiences in the U.S. during WWII using oral histories. During her time at DePaul, she worked with Muslim American oral histories at the Chicago History Museum and conducted her own oral histories on COVID-19's impact on the DePaul community for the university's Special Collections and Archives.

After earning her master's degree, Serna would like to pursue a career in academic librarianship, as a student success librarian or in a reference and instruction position that incorporates outreach and engagement. Serna is also a 2023-2024 American Library Association (ALA) Spectrum Scholar. 

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool undergraduates selected as 2025 Community Academic Scholars

The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) has selected BSIS student Dhanvi Puttur and BSIS+DS student Lara Terpetschnig as 2025 Community-Academic Scholars. Representing nineteen majors and nine minors in eight colleges and schools at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and two additional universities, the eighteen scholars in this cohort encompass diverse fields of study, from community health to graphic design to statistics. 

BSIS+DS student Lara Terpetschnig and BSIS student Dhanvi Puttur

He receives Amazon Research Award to improve monitoring of Earth’s ecosystem

A new project led by Professor Jingrui He aims to help scientists monitor disruptions to the Earth’s ecosystem, such as climate change. She recently received support for her work through an Amazon Research Award, which includes $60,000 in cash and an additional $40,000 in Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits.

Jingrui He

Guan successfully defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Yingjun Guan successfully defended his dissertation, "Disambiguating Academic Institution Names: A Comprehensive Study of Authority Files, Linguistic Variations, and Computational Evaluation in PubMed Affiliations," on April 28. 

Yingjun Guan

Scholarship provides validation, motivation for Martinez

BSIS+DS student Fabian Martinez chose his major because he wanted to learn how to help people understand and interpret data and information. While his immediate plans include finding a job in data analytics, business analytics, consulting, or product management, his ultimate goal is "to create meaningful relationships and help make a meaningful impact in the world" in whatever way he can.

Fabian Martinez graduation

Spectrum Scholar Spotlight: Guadalupe Castillo

Twelve iSchool master's students were named 2024–2025 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MSLIS student Guadalupe Castillo earned her BA in international studies and Spanish and Latin American literature from the University of California, San Diego.

Guadalupe Castillo