Published: May 14, 2015 by Allison Randall Gatt

From time to time, iSchool faculty and staff receive thoughtful, unsolicited letters from alumni and current students who want to share their thoughts about the program and how it has affected their lives and careers. We love getting these letters, and we learn a lot from them. We thought you might too, so we’d like to share some of them with you. Below is the first in an occasional series of Letters to the iSchool.

Student Basia Delawska-Elliot currently works in a medical library and expects to complete her MLIS in May of 2016. At the iSchool she’s gathered courses from many areas to be well rounded, but she has focused specifically on emerging technologies and leadership and management. Delawska-Elliot recently wrote this proud letter to our online student adviser, Sheila Gurtu.

Dear Sheila,

Thank you for your kind words and for all your support!

These past three years have been very exciting for me and I credit entering the program with all of my achievements. If you are really ready to hear some bragging from me, here it comes:

• In 2013, because of the fact that I was in the MLIS program, I got offered a professional position at my library.
• In 2014 I co-presented with my director at the Medical Library Association annual conference. In January of this year, the paper we wrote for the 2014 MLA presentation got published in the Journal of the Medical Library Association
• Starting next week I will be teaching Searching for Evidence in the Evidence-Based Practice boot camp. Later in the summer I will be creating online modules for an applied health informatics certificate program and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Completion Program sponsored by my institution.
• In February I applied for a technology improvement grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine for our library team and just last week I found out that we were awarded the grant! I will be managing the grant.

And then there is school, SLA activities and, of course, family. I have a lot going on, but I am also very happy about all the opportunities enrolling in the program has created for me. I can easily say that starting the MLIS program was the best professional decision I have made in my life.

Thank you for letting me brag and thank you for all of your great support! Your help has been priceless!

Best,
Basia

For related content, check out:
Shape Your Graduate School and Professional Goals with iSchool Pinterest Boards

One of Your Best Resources at the iSchool: The Advising Site on Canvas

A Great Way to Get Further Involved in the iSchool– The ASIS&T Student Chapter

image courtesy of cool designs