With a passion for making books accessible to anyone at any age, Justin Williams made it his mission to seek a career in a library that would allow him to connect with others and make an impact in their lives through the use of stories and information. Williams is set to graduate this May and has a job lined up at as a teen librarian for the White Oak Library District in Lockport, Illinois.

As a computer networks software developer, Shubhanshu Mishra realized that he was less interested in software than in understanding its users and their social interactions. This insight led him to the iSchool at Illinois, where he is learning skills in his PhD studies that will prepare him for a new career in information science.

A former speech-language pathologist with a passion for social justice, master's student Nisha Mody found her calling in the field of library and information science. While at the iSchool, Mody has served on various committees and been recognized as an American Library Association (ALA) Spectrum Scholar and as part of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce.

Kristina Williams believes deeply in the strength of character built by service to one's community and the enrichment gained through civic and neighborly engagement. It was this commitment to community involvement, which she observed in iSchool students, that first attracted her to the MS/LIS degree program.

S.K. (Kayleigh) Van Poolen is a Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) student who has advanced degrees in political science, urban planning, information sciences, and law. On November 15, Van Poolen's talk, "Started with a Hurricane Named Katrina," won third place at the 2016 Research Live! competition sponsored by the Graduate College.

An interest in medical informatics led Henry A. Gabb to pursue a doctoral degree in LIS. Gabb's research goal is to mine the vast scientific literature and genetic databases for biomarkers that predict drug efficacy.

As an undergrad Christopher Murphy first heard about the iSchool at Illinois from a librarian friend at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Now as an MS/LIS student, intellectual property researcher for John Deere, and volunteer in the community, Murphy has seen for himself how important building a professional network can be.

When iSchool master’s student Alison Rollins saw that Nerinx Hall High School had a job opening for a librarian, she jumped at the chance to work for her alma mater. She was hired in in August, bringing several years of experience in youth services for public libraries.

It is at this intersection of people and institutions that doctoral candidate Cheryl Thompson is conducting her research. Specifically, she explores how organizations develop data expertise and services to support science.

Jesus Espinoza has been quite busy so far during his time at the iSchool. In addition to his classes and graduate assistant position with the University Libraries, he is a member of the Student Advisory Board to the School’s Student Affairs office, vice president of the American Library Association (ALA) Student Chapter and co-chair of the group’s Lecture and Professional Development Committee, an ALA Spectrum Scholar, and an Association of Research Libraries Diversity Scholar.

Amanda McGrory is surprisingly calm when she talks about juggling her master’s degree classes, work at the iSchool's Help Desk, and race trainings with the University’s wheelchair track team. On top of these activities—which make up her normal routine—McGrory is preparing to travel to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games.

For master’s student Catherine Mardula, librarianship is the family business. She’s following in the footsteps of her mother, an iSchool alumna, as well as her aunt and grandmother, all of whom are librarians. Catherine is pursuing special collections librarianship and—thanks to her Alternative Spring Break experience at the University of St. Andrews—cataloging.

Master's student Galen Kelly has focused his studies on knowledge management and applied business research and supplemented his educational experience by working as a business research consultant. He is currently completing an internship in product strategy at U.S. Cellular and preparing to graduate this August.

Master’s student Gretsi Isac chose to earn her degree at the iSchool at Illinois because she knew the School would present rewarding challenges and open doors for professional opportunities. Now she’s preparing to graduate in August and pursue a career in data analytics.

A design background led master’s student Lorin Bruckner to study data visualization at GSLIS. This spring, she will complete her MS in LIS with specializations in socio-technical data analytics and data curation and pursue a career as a data visualization developer.

Krystal Cooper is pursuing her interests in digital humanities, analytics, and archiving as a master’s student at GSLIS and as a graduate assistant with the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship (CIRSS). She also is broadening her educational scope through participation in scholars programs of two multidisciplinary organizations, and this month she participated in the Computing Research Association: Women’s 2016 Grad Cohort Workshop.

For Illinois native Robert Sarwark, the decision to pursue a master's degree at GSLIS was an obvious one. As an MS/LIS student and graduate assistant at the International and Area Studies Library, he's now pursuing a range of interests, including information access, communications and languages, and special collections.

Master's student Elisandro Cabada has his sights set on academic librarianship. As a 2015-2017 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Diversity Scholar, and with experience working at two University of Illinois libraries, he is well on his way to achieving his goal. Why did you decide to pursue an LIS degree? I have been working or volunteering in libraries since I was a freshman in high…

It’s no surprise that MS student Flannery Crump chose GSLIS when she decided to pursue a career in LIS. The program was recommended to her by a reliable source—her mother, Amy Crump. She’s following in her mother’s footsteps toward a career in public librarianship. Flannery Crump Why did you decide to pursue an LIS degree? All throughout my childhood, my parents would take me to the…

This week the University of Illinois celebrates both Graduate Student Appreciation Week and International Week. At GSLIS, we are proud of all our students and our international connections, including faculty, research fellows, scholars-in-residence, and students like Thomas Mukonde, who hails from Zambia. Why did you decide to pursue an LIS degree? I decided to do an LIS degree because I…