iSchool Student Elana Churchill Receives Two Medical Library Association Awards

Community Profile

New San José State University School of Information student Elana Churchill is off to a strong start in the program. Churchill, who began taking classes in the spring semester, has already received a travel grant and a scholarship to help further her education.

Churchill was awarded a scholarship by the Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona that will help fund her studies. She also received the Medical Library Association (MLA) Scholarship for Minority Students, Annual Meeting, which enabled her to attend MLA’s Annual Conference in Chicago in May. According to Churchill, the MLA Conference provided her with the opportunity to network with medical librarians from around the country and learn about issues and trends in the field. She learned about both award opportunities on the iSchool page.

While Churchill does not currently work in a medical library, she has a strong interest in pursuing a career in special librarianship. As a tech writer for a Los Angeles software company, she has a strong background in technology and would like to put her experience to work in a capacity that will benefit the community. Churchill explained that her job involves “taking something highly technical and making it accessible and understandable…I love that part.” Her ability to understand, research and disseminate complex information no doubt will serve her well in her future career as a librarian.