Community Profiles

Overview

Community Profiles

Get to know our students, alumni and instructors by reading about their backgrounds, interests, professional goals, favorite courses, accomplishments, careers, and more fascinating experiences. These stories cover a wide range of topics and showcase the talents of our vibrant global community. 

Community Profile

Empowering Communities through Digital Library Services with Kristen Chua

Kristen Chua

“A lot of my projects involve thinking about how systems and technologies can be designed or improved to better connect people to the information they need. The Informatics program has made me a better analyst, information professional, and researcher through courses focusing on human-centered design, data management, project management, and computer networking. These classes have helped me think about what solutions are not only helpful but also possible.”

Kristen Chua
MS in Informatics, ‘23 Spring 

Community Profile

Championing Student Success with Chris Lopez

Chris Lopez

“You have to ask yourself, what’s the Counseling Center doing? What’s the Women’s Resource Center doing? What’s the LGBTQ Center doing? How can I partner with them, because they’re getting to that holistic side of the student? They’re speaking to that and that’s where I want to help them see that the library is like a co-conspirator.”

Chris Lopez, ‘21 MLIS 

Community Profile

Preserving Indigenous Latine Culture with Briana Alvino   

“Many of us are first-gen grad students, so there’s a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations of our family and peers. Don’t be afraid to explore all the different fields LIS has to offer, and keep in mind that the Latine community is proud of you no matter what.”

Briana Alvino
SJSU MLIS, Projected ‘24

Community Profile

Making Higher Education Accessible with Dr. Walter Butler 

“So my interest was, how are [college] libraries changing? How are Open Educational Resources impacting their structures, and what new structures are now emerging to support this new effort?”

Dr. Walter Butler 
Pasadena, CA
SJSU Ph.D. March 2022

Community Profile

Discovering Data Science with Keith Fernandez

Keith Fernandez

“Data impacts everyone. And that’s what this program is about – helping gear a person towards how to use that data and make sense of that data, protect that data, and leverage that data for health care and all kinds of industries.”

Keith Fernandez
San Diego, CA
SJSU B.S. in ISDA expected Spring 2023

Community Profile

Paving The Way In Youth Librarianship with Jane Gov 

“You need to know that you’re going to fail. I think there’s this perception that all of my programs are successful, and they’re not. That’s a misconception. It’s not that they’re failures, there’s always a learning curve.”

Jane Gov, ‘11 MLIS 
Pasadena, CA

Community Profile

Understanding Good Library Management with Tiffany Duck

Tiffany Duck

“I like being a manager. I know it can be stressful but I really like it. I think it gives you the opportunity to help shape people’s work and help them grow and get to where they want to go professionally.”

Tiffany Duck, ‘13 MLIS
Suffolk, VA

Community Profile

A Life of Libraries with Stephanie Saba

Stephanie Saba

“I love libraries. I love this profession. You just meet so many amazing people every day…I just love it. Like I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” 

Stephanie Saba, ‘12 MLIS
Pacifica, CA 

Community Profile

Jessica Pryde On Diversifying Your Career and Your Bookshelf

“I definitely recommend trying things out – take the classes that you’re interested in, do various types of internships if you can afford it. Get certain jobs if you can’t, and just sort of let your interests take you. You could find something perfect for you that you just didn’t expect.”

Jessica Pryde, ‘09 MLIS
Tucson, AZ 

Community Profile

BSLISE International Scholar Sabrina Gunn Discovers a Love for Information Systems

“I actually do thrive really well with technology. It’s not this scary monster but I think so many of us just put up boundaries and think, ‘Oh, I’m not this way. I’m not this type of person. I can’t do this.’ I find myself saying, ‘I can’t do this’ a lot. And then I find that I actually can, and be very good at it.”

Sabrina Gunn, MLIS student (anticipated graduation Spring 2023)
Sacramento, CA

Community Profile

A Mother and Daughter’s MLIS Journey

Mother and Daughter MLIS

“You start with a love of books and go down to questions of who is the keeper of the information, and how do we keep it safe, and how do we organize it in such a way that future generations can find it, and all that stuff… It’s very cool.”

Julie Tilsner MLIS
Long Beach, CA

Community Profile

Lizette Cabrera on Cultural Perspectives in the Library Environment

Lizette Cabrera

“I feel we are all equal. We all deserve an opportunity to better ourselves, to learn, to gain knowledge and wisdom to educate ourselves. I feel humbleness, it’s what identifies me as an immigrant. Humbleness, honesty and perseverance.”

Lizette Cabrera, ‘21 MLIS
Lemoore, CA

Community Profile

Natasha Finnegan: Aspiring for Library Leadership and Management

Natasha Finnegan Headshot

“I like doing a lot of things, I could never put myself into a box (when it came to a career,) but when I started working in a library, I knew it was where I was meant to be.”

Natasha Finnegan, MLIS Student (expected graduation date in spring 2022)
Salisbury, MD

Community Profile

Alumnus Randall White on Changing the World with Informatics

Randall White Headshot

“The informatic principles I am able to provide and assist a lot of our graduate students and our principal investigators with allow them to publish works that are pushing humanity forward.”

Randall White, ‘20 MS in Informatics 
Computational Research Technical Consultant
Stanford University
Tulsa, OK

Community Profile

Student Carlos Bugarin: Leadership, Librarianship, and Lending a Helping Hand

Carlos Bugarin Headshot

“Everyone inspires me. Everyone has something different to contribute. The people I’ve interacted with have helped drive my passion for working with/helping others out. It’s like composing research in Library and Information Sciences - you start with a general idea, and it sharpens as you do more research.”

Carlos Bugarin, MLIS (degree expected Spring 2023)
San Diego, CA

Community Profile

Alumna Alejandra Reyes’ Passion for Helping Others Through Public Librarianship and REFORMA

Alejandra Reyes

“I believe in treating your neighbor the way you want to be treated. If I were going through something, I’d want someone to help me, and I want to be that person for someone else…I believe I was always meant to do this, to go to San José, to become a librarian. Everything sort of fell into place!”

Alejandra Reyes, ‘20 MLIS
Messenger Clerk at Los Angeles Public Library’s Robert Louis Stevenson Branch
Los Angeles, CA 

Community Profile

Student Meredith Lancaster’s Passion for Art History and Archives

Meredith Lancaster

“I wake up in the morning and can’t think of anything else but art. When I go to bed at night, I can’t think of anything else but art. That’s how I know I was meant to be an art historian and archivist.”

 Meredith Landcaster, MLIS Student (degree expected spring 2022)
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area