As a teenager helping her mother sort books in the public library in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Lorraine Haricombe (MSLIS '88, PhD '92) didn't realize that one day she would become a recognized leader in the field of librarianship. As director of their hometown library, Haricombe's mother influenced her daughter's career path and instilled in her a love of learning.
Two iSchool alumni are included in Library Journal's 2026 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 50 professionals who are moving the library field as a profession. Leah T. Dudak (MSLIS '17) was honored in the Advocates category and Mariella Colon (MSLIS '07) was honored in the Community Builders category.
In his role as analyst at Nicor Gas, Eugene Gurevich (BSIS '23) is making sure the natural gas system that millions of people use stays safe and dependable. He credits the iSchool with teaching him technical skills—such as how to clean, transform, and visualize data—as well as how to communicate effectively with different audiences. Gurevich encourages current students to "explore unconventional career paths."
As a librarian at Kiplinger Research Library, Alex Aspiazu (MSLIS '22) loves solving historical mysteries and serving as a welcoming guide for patrons who are new to special collection libraries. When not providing a friendly presence at Kiplinger, Washington, DC residents can catch Aspiazu performing in plays at area theaters.
In his role with the University of Illinois Alumni Association, Sid Patil (MSIM '24) turns data into connections with alumni and students. Patil developed this human-centered thinking through his studies at the iSchool.
Manas Godha (BSIS '24) learned how to connect "different contexts, people, and processes with data and technology" at the iSchool. He is putting those skills into practice in his work as the growth and strategy lead at Advaiya.
As a law librarian II for the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch, Rebecca Greenlee (MSLIS '21) helps patrons from all walks of life gain access to the law. She credits her graduate assistantship, the connections she made with her classmates, and the iSchool’s instructors with providing her with the foundation she needed for her role.
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.
iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA) is pleased to announce the recipients of its annual awards, which were presented at an alumni reception during the 2025 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition.
Of the seven Cordells, you’ll find three of them on campus with connections to the iSchool: Ryan is a faculty member; Evie, an iSchool alum, University of Illinois librarian, and faculty member; and Cadence, an MSLIS student.
Most of Jeannette C. Pearson Johnson's ninety-five years have been spent in a library. Over the course of her lifetime, Johnson has served as an elementary school librarian, a public librarian, and a church librarian, as well as a library volunteer until as recently as last year.
M. Cameron Jones (PhD '10) will deliver the 2025 iSchool Convocation address on Sunday, May 18, from 1:30-3:00 p.m. at the Activities and Recreation Center. For those who would like to watch the ceremony online, live video will be available as well as archived for future viewing.
Two iSchool alumni and an MSLIS student are included in Library Journal's 2025 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 50 professionals who are moving the library field forward as a profession. Leah Gregory (MSLIS '04) was honored in the Advocates category, Billy Tringali (MSLIS '19) was honored in the Innovators category, and University Library Assistant Professor and Digital Humanities Librarian Mary Ton (current MSLIS student) was honored in the Educators category.
Outside of her work as senior software engineer, Wendy Edwards (MSLIS '09) is active in the areas of security and data science through her involvement in Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS); SANS Institute's Women's Cyber Academy; and NASA's Datanauts program and Space Apps Challenge hackathon. Edwards was a two-time champion in the Target Cyber Defense Challenge, earning scholarships to attend the WiCyS annual conference. In addition to her MSLIS, she holds an MS in computer science from the University of Illinois Springfield.
Even as a customer relationship management (CRM) analyst, Payal Narvekar (MSIM ’23) still finds herself referring to her class notes on Python when she needs inspiration. When not building dashboards or reports, Narvekar is most likely building Lego sets.
An internship with Discover Financial Services led to a full-time position at the company for Terence Frank Njekeu (BSIS '22). He enjoys helping provide solutions for his company’s analytics needs in his role as senior operation strategy analyst.
Through her work at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), Shuyi Liu (MSLIS ’19, CAS ’23) aims to bridge gaps in health literacy, especially for underserved populations. She recently developed an innovative health informatics course with Medical Library Association certification.
