The following iSchool faculty, staff, and students will participate in iConference 2022, which will be held virtually on February 28-March 4. The annual event brings together scholars, researchers, and information professionals to share insights on critical information issues. The theme of this year's conference is "Information for a Better World: Shaping the Global Future."

After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Spanish and Portuguese, Jessica Zaldana set out to find a graduate program with flexibility, research possibilities, and opportunities to explore her other interests in digital humanities, information, and technology.

Recent iSchool graduate Anthony Kwok (BS/IS '21) is an aspiring computerphile who now has a full-time position at Accenture LLC in Houston. Kwok's interest in cybersecurity consulting stemmed from his curiosity about information technology and passion for helping others, which includes fixing computers and devices for people alongside ensuring that their technology is safe from cyberattacks.

Associate Professor Yang Wang has received a one-year, $100,000 grant from Meta for his project, "Global South Citizens' Privacy Perceptions and Management of Targeted Ads on Social Media." His doctoral students Tanusree Sharma, Smirity Kaushik, and Yaman Yu will serve as co-investigators. The goal of the project is to learn from users in the Global South, with a focus on India and Bangladesh, about their experience with targeted ads.

Michael Torres, a senior from Chicago, has used the skills he gained from his iSchool courses in his internships and student organizations. Following his graduation this spring, he will work as an IT rotational analyst at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.

Eight iSchool master's students were named 2021-2022 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. MS/LIS student Sheridan Cazarez earned his bachelor's degree in Spanish from California State University, Long Beach. He would like to make libraries more accessible and relevant to Latinxs and Spanish speakers through "targeted programming, multilingual collections, and the type of face-to-face service that engenders feelings of community and belonging."

After a few years in the workplace, it took a "leap of faith" for Callan Miranda to decide to return to school for an MS/LIS degree. A full-time employee at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, Miranda is happy with her choice to enroll in the iSchool's Leep (online) program and thankful to be the inaugural recipient of the Nancy and Dan Balz Scholarship. Nancy (BA LAS '70, MS/LIS '72) and her husband Dan (BS Media '68, MS Media '72) established the scholarship to help make education more affordable for returning students like Miranda.

When she isn't taking classes through the iSchool's Leep (online) program or working part time in the library at Hong Kong Academy, Lynn Lawrence-Brown is writing book reviews (including this review of a book by renowned children's poet Janet Wong) and blogging for We Need Diverse Books. Last month she completed a discussion guide for an upcoming middle-grade novel, The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei by Christina Matula. Lawrence-Brown, a Taiwanese American who grew up in Maine but now lives in Hong Kong, wants to continue "doing work that helps promote diverse books and writers of color and help put diverse books in the hands of readers of all ages."

MS/IM student Aradhya Seth is enjoying his time at the U of I, exploring campus, attending Trivia Tuesdays and karaoke at the Illini Union, and doing stand-up comedy. As an iSchool Ambassador, he gets the opportunity to share his experiences of student life at the iSchool and Illinois with prospective students.

Members of Associate Professor Dong Wang's research group, the Social Sensing Lab, will present papers at the 2021 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (IEEE BigData 2021), which will be held virtually from December 15-18.