MLIS student Paola Mondragon and Dr. Villagran will present at the LOEX 2025 conference on “Your Voices: Sharing and Elevating the Voices of Underrepresented Students.” Your Voices was a project that allowed underrepresented students in library and information science and applied data science to share their stories, support each other, and learn how to navigate equity, diversity, and inclusion. The project culminated in a final report and best practices guide highlighting the project’s successes for further expansion of student engagement and empowerment in its second iteration, Students: Amplifying Your Voices (SAYV). SAYV focused on community learning spaces, a Discord server, and a podcast series for underrepresented students. This session will detail Your Voices results, highlight the best practices guide for organizations, and share the current progress of SAYV (https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/yourvoices/).

Participants will:
1. Describe the barriers and challenges in the development and implementation of building community among students.
2. Explore best practices implemented in creating a EDI service project for students.
3. Engage with one another in discussion and brainstorm similar initiatives within their organizations.

Presenters: MLIS student Paola Mondragon and Dr. Michele A. L. Villagran
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Time: 8:50 am – 9:40 am (Pacific Time)
Location: https://www.loexconference.org/program/