Community Profiles
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.
The Enlightened Generalist: Odin Halvorson
“[In the] work that we do as librarians, there is no part of knowledge that we don’t connect to. Everything is our domain. And that just suited me.”
Odin Halvorson, MLIS expected ‘24
Richmond, Virginia
The Army, Music and Librarianship with Kathryn Beyer
Kathryn Beyer is about to graduate from the SJSU iSchool Post-Master’s Certificate Program. She has had a multifaceted career that blends the Army and librarianship.
Kathryn Beyer, ‘24, Post-Master’s Certificate
Washington, D.C.
Bridging Knowledge Recipient Marcus Ortiz
“I wanted to learn more about my Hawaiian identity so I enrolled as an undergrad at the University of Hawaii at Manoa… while there I became privy to the historical traumas of colonization and how that manifests in modern times for Indigenous peoples. It was then that I felt compelled to support these populations—now I hope to help Indigenous students (among others) from the perspective of the library.”
Marcus Ortiz, ‘24, MLIS
Washington, D.C.
From Radical Bookstores to Liberatory Librarianship with Kristi Kenney
Kristi Kenney (she/her) is an MLIS student in the final semester of her program at the SJSU iSchool. Kristi and her family live in Berkeley, California, where she has lived for the past 15 years after relocating from her hometown of Seattle, Washington. Throughout her time in SJSU’s MLIS program, Kristi has achieved a number of significant accomplishments, including the creation of a LibGuide, poster presentation, and even a full-fledged non-profit organization supporting the San Quentin Prison Library!
Arthur Kolat: Music, Art, and Literature
“When I first got into library school we all read The Invisible Substrate of Information Science by Marcia Bates. She says that information science is one of the meta disciplines, and says that people who are attracted to it are good with languages and good at getting the big picture of a subject. I remember seeing myself in those descriptions!”
Arthur Kolat, current MLIS Student
Los Angeles, California
In Conversation with ischool Blogger Kesheena Doctor
“One of the things with blogging is that I felt like I was really reflective, but I also was very determined to provide information for students.”
Kesheena Doctor, expected ‘24, MLIS
New Orleans, Louisiana
Transitioning From Bookstores to Librarianship
Leo Buckley is an MLIS student in his first semester at San José State University. He is of Irish heritage and is a quarter Japanese.
Leo Buckley, MLIS student
San Francisco, CA
Learning and Working Through Illness with Valerie Tohom
“There’s so many resources out there for students – don’t let your status as a student hold you back! A lot of people like that you’re a student because they know you have a desire to learn.”
Valerie Tohom, MLIS expected ‘24
Los Angeles, CA
Archiving Special Collections at SJSU with Kate Steffens
“It’s a really great team and we all really get along and complement each other’s work and you know, try and do a lot of outreach together and work on projects together. I know having been part of a group called CSU Archivists, how lucky I am to be at San José State because there are quite a few people in the system who are like the lone archivist with no student assistants and no other people helping them. So having four people feels like an army to me.”
San José, CA
Kate Steffens, ‘19 MLIS
Organizing Archives with Sereen Suleiman
“That’s the beauty of the Library and Information Science profession. It’s a very versatile field. You don’t have to work specifically in a library to apply your skill set. You don’t even have to be known as a librarian. You could have a title such as Information Architect or Taxonomist to apply your skills into practice, and that’s an amazing feeling to know that if you don’t get into a library, it’s not the end of the world.”
Sereen Suleiman
SJSU MLIS, December 2023
Becoming an Instruction Librarian with Michael Stephens
“Now I like to say it’s a class in humanism and library services masquerading as a technology class because we do a lot with technology, but it really, really is about making connections with people. And how we might help them and serve their needs to live good lives in whatever information environment these folks are in.”
Michael Stephens
SJSU iSchool Professor
Checking out BookTok with Mychal Threets
“I think we just have fun with it. Me and the people who work on Library TikTok pride ourselves on embracing the cringe. I think as more and more people see library coworkers having fun with TikTok, you’ll see them start to submit ideas or be willing to participate themselves.”
Mychal Threets, ‘18 MLIS
Fairfield, California
Documenting Black Librarianship with Selena Lee and Katie Perry
“Having Selena as a partner in this research made it 1000 times easier and better and it made it easier to accept the help, too. So really lean on your partners in your internship and your learning experience and your research. This research is going to help define our careers in the future.”
Katie Perry, ‘23 MLIS
Selena Lee, MLIS (expected May 2024)
Muppets and MLIS Mayhem with SLASC President Lauren Kime
“Being a part of that production, and post-production, seeing the full scale of what it takes to not only write something and have it approved but also get it produced, and then all the marketing that goes into it and all of the appearances and promotions and everything, it’s definitely changed the way that I view puppetry as a whole… because there’s just so much more to it than just someone sticking their hand into a puppet and making it talk.”
Lauren Kime, MLIS/DAM Certificate December
2023
Los Angeles, CA
Centering “Your Voices” with Kara (K. René) Price
“My goal is to connect my background in policy and data science to librarianship. I want to become an information professional who not only advocates for underrepresented communities in GLAM but also advises and helps information institutions truly embody belonging in their policies, programs, services, and spaces.”
Kara (K. René) Price (pronouns: they/she/y’all) MSDCS
SJSU MLIS, Expected Fall ‘24
Positioning Herself to Preserve Archives with Sara Morrison
“There’s no need to be anxious or worried about succeeding because I feel like with the help available to me personally, it would be impossible for me to not succeed in this program.”
Sara Morrison, MARA (anticipated Dec. 2023)
Seattle, WA
Creating User-Friendly Libraries with Library Consultant Aaron Schmidt
“User experience is the framework that allows us as librarians to think about our services from the perspective of how our communities interact with them. It’s this great but also common sense idea that people have needs and expectations. Instead of approaching our services, our buildings, and our websites to solve needs for the library, we need to flip that around and listen to our communities and design things for them instead of designing things for us.”
Aaron Schmidt
SJSU, iSchool Instructor
To Dance is to Find Community: Marissa Arterberry’s Journey as an Artist, Educator and Parent
“When I got the library media technician job, I was able to do a deep dive into the Library and Information Science (LIS) field and thought, ‘I love my job so much that I’m angry. I’m angry that I didn’t do this sooner.’ That’s when I decided to go for the MLIS at San José State.”
Marissa Arterberry (pronouns: she/her/hers)
SJSU MLIS, started in fall 2022
Organizing Archives with Junia Papas
“I’m just so grateful to San José State University. I think they prepared me very well. That’s something I really wanted to say because there was all this vast information I didn’t know and they really got me prepared correctly so when I got on the scene, working a real job, I felt really confident that I’d be able to do it.”
Junia Papas, ‘18 MARA
Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan
Finding Success in Academic Libraries with Dominique Dozier
“No one has been in my position. I’m the first one. But I’m creating it. I am figuring things out. I’m using the tools that I learned in iSchool. I’m applying all this knowledge and trying to support the students and faculty the best way that I can.”
Dominique Dozier, ‘21 MLIS
Santa Clara, CA