According to Hailley Fargo (MSLIS '16), the mentorship and educational opportunities she received at the iSchool provided a strong foundation for her current role as interim associate dean and head of education and outreach services at Northern Kentucky University. She enjoys building a strong and collaborative team and helping colleagues across campus understand the ways a library can impact the academic experience.

With his Choctaw and Muscogee Creek heritage, PhD student David Eby has a personal connection to his research, which seeks to blend Indigenous knowledge with quantitative data practices. Eby, who is a member of Native American House at University of Illinois, is also interested in analyzing online community identity and representation. 

Karina Cooper (MSLIS '23) likes that her job as librarian at the Niels Bohr Library and Archives allows her to explore her interdisciplinary interests and do "a little bit of everything." She credits the iSchool with helping her build a well-rounded skill set and gain valuable hands-on practice, which have helped her succeed in her job.

As a digital consultant for Caterpillar, Kirti Tyagi (MSIM '23) helps people make informed, data-driven decisions that have a tangible impact on the business. Prior to joining Caterpillar full time, she served as a digital intelligence intern for the company. 

MSLIS student Chloe Miller is using her journalism background in her role as editorial assistant for the iSchool's quarterly journal, Library Trends. In the span of a year, Miller has proofed and edited nearly 2,000 references across approximately ten languages for adherence to the Chicago Manual of Style and provided foundational research for new policies and procedures.

Grant Florence (BSIS '23) used final projects from his iSchool courses to assemble a portfolio of case studies, which helped him land his job as a user experience designer for Microsoft. Now he is helping to design solutions for the cloud computing platform Azure. 

In his role as a computer vision engineer at Precision Planting, Jeremy Carnahan (MSIM '21) is part of a team that is making agriculture more productive and sustainable while reducing costs for growers. 

For Paige Schulz (BSIS '22), the best part about working as a software developer for The Aerospace Corporation is "embracing constant change." She enjoys the fast pace in the tech world and in New York City, where she resides.

Hiromi Morikawa (CAS '12), executive officer and chief information officer at Nishimoto Co., Ltd., enjoys helping her teams grow and succeed. She was recently named a 2024 Consumer Goods Technology Visionary, which recognizes a select cohort of consumer goods executives who embody positive change in their organizations and inspire through their leadership.

In his role as a senior product designer for the Healthy Regions & Policies Lab, Shubham Kumar (MSIM '23) uses design to break down complex concepts, visualize information in meaningful ways, and ultimately encourage broader engagement in discussions about health and society. 

After spending some time in the defense IT industry, Michael Ferrer decided to return to school for his MSIM degree to gain skills in areas such as data visualization and advance his career. Outside of his studies, Ferrer is a competitive ballroom dancer and member of the Illinois Army National Guard.

PhD student Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou's goal is to make information and communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) experiences more equitable, accessible, beneficial, and ethical for all. In his free time, he is devoted to helping junior researchers, especially those from populations not typically represented in STEM.

Now the executive director of the World Innovations Network, Mojgan Momeni (MSLIS '09) credits her iSchool experience with leading her to discover her true passion—creating an innovative and entrepreneurial network model for global collaboration.

Jordan Neal (MSLIS '17) enjoys serving her community through her work at the Champaign Public Library. This fall, Neal was named one of Central Illinois Business magazine's 2023 Forty under 40 Award winners. The awards are given to young professionals in recognition of their career achievements, leadership ability, and dedication to community service.

In his research, PhD student Kainen Bell seeks to understand how stakeholders collaborate to prevent the use of surveillance technologies in their communities. Bell was recently awarded a Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity Fellowship to support his work in creating resources, documents, and publications that support the efforts of a national anti-surveillance campaign in Brazil (#TireMeuRostoDaSuaMira).

Chetna Beri (MSIM '23) is a software engineer at W. W. Grainger, a leading distributor of industrial and safety supplies. Grainger was one of several companies that contacted Beri after she attended the iSchool's career fair last fall. Her advice to students is to network, get involved, ask questions, and attend the iSchool Networking and Career Fair on September 8.

When Kelly Schulz (MSLIS '18) visited the National Gallery of Art in the 5th grade, she immediately knew that she wanted to work there. "At that time, I had no idea what the job would be, but I just knew that I wanted to do it here," she recalled. As fate would have it, Schulz's dream came true, and she is now an archivist at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The PhD degree program at the iSchool celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2023. This profile is part of a special series featuring PhD alumni. Miriam Sweeney (PhD '13) is an associate professor at the University of Alabama.

PhD student Zachary (Zak) Kilhoffer sums up his research interests in two words: tech policy. He joined the iSchool in 2021 after working overseas as a labor economist.

In his appointment with the University of Illinois Library, Christopher Bailey (MSLIS '17) provides collection development, reference, and information services to the School of Information Sciences.