Published: October 19, 2025 by Rebecca Snyder

In March 2020, I had experienced just one full quarter of college at UC Santa Cruz before we were told to go home for “a couple of weeks” to take precautions against the Covid-19 virus. At the time, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal—maybe a little worrying, but definitely not the global event it turned into. Before that announcement, I was taking full advantage of being out of my hometown: determined to befriend everyone on my dorm floor, saying “yes” to every invitation and taking my literature studies very seriously. So, I was pretty devastated when we got word that we wouldn’t be returning to campus anytime soon and would instead be confined to our childhood bedrooms.

This devastation had much more to do with the loss of the cultural expectation of what college is like, and less so having to complete my degree mostly by Zoom. It took me a minute to get used to learning remotely and what it meant to participate in a digital classroom. But now, working on my MLIS at SJSU’s iSchool, I’m so grateful for the option to have this much flexibility in completing my degree while not missing out on quality academics and a sense of community.

Those seemingly opposite experiences made me wonder what it was like for iSchool alumni who studied before the pandemic:

• What did people think about online learning back then? 
• Did it feel strange or experimental? 
• And how do those early experiences compare to today’s?

Luckily for me, I had a pretty great resource to turn to.

To get some perspective on how online learning has evolved since Covid-19 reshaped our world, and how it was experienced before all that, I sat down with iSchool alum and archivist Jessie Durant (‘11 MLIS). I first met Jessie three years ago when she interviewed me for an internship at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History’s Archives. During my time working with her, I learned a great deal about archives, community history, and the importance of storytelling through collections. She’s the one who first recommended the iSchool program to me, so it’s been fun to compare courses we’ve both taken and see how the program has grown over the years.

So, let’s take it back to 2011!

Rebecca: Jessie, thank you for taking the time to chat with me!

Jessie: Happy to!

Rebecca: To get right into it, what drew you to archives?

Jessie: My first Professional Experience Internship was at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History in the Fall of 2010. During that same semester, I also took Archives and Manuscripts. The combination of that introductory class with the mentorship I received from the archivist at the MAH drew me to continue down the path to archives.

I really loved that I could combine my love of history (an undergrad degree in History of Art & Visual culture) with my natural inclination to organize. The more I learned about archival theory, the importance of archives to communities, the power of archives to tell stories and the history of the place I lived through our local archival repositories, it was a natural fit.

Rebecca: The art history to archives pipeline is real! What drew you to the program at the iSchool?

Jessie: After graduating from UCSC with a BA in History of Art & Visual Culture, I was figuring out my next step. I took a Myer’s Briggs test to get some ideas. Librarian was on the list of top careers for people with my letter combination. A phone call with a friend who was attending the LIS program at UCLA introduced me to the program at San José State, which would allow me to do it while still living in Santa Cruz.

Rebecca: How was your experience being an online student?

Jessie: I had not had a lot of experience with online learning prior to starting the program but was open to the format since it allowed me to continue working and living in Santa Cruz. I am very self-motivated, organized and pretty good with time management so I went into it feeling like it would be a good fit.

The online learning environment worked for me. It was essential to participate in the Professional Experience Internships to get hands-on experience in LIS environments and with LIS professionals to supplement the reading and writing assignments in other classes. I also think that the group projects could be challenging at times. They really helped to build community with the other students in the program since the rest is very independent work.

Rebecca: It is such a balance between independence and seeking community. How did you find community while at the iSchool?

Jessie: The group projects and required internships were key. I also did a lot of research to find volunteer opportunities in my community in a variety of information environments (public libraries, academic libraries, archival repositories) to help me find the niche within LIS that was for me.

Despite the 15-year gap between our experiences at the iSchool, I was struck by how much has stayed the same. Online learning is one of those things where you get out what you put in—but the iSchool provides plenty of support to help you make the most of it.

Some of my biggest takeaways from my conversation with Jessie:

• Introduce yourself to your classmates. Group projects are a great way to break the ice and get to know your classmates better, as are the various topic-centric online events the iSchool hosts.
• Take advantage of internships and volunteer opportunities. We’re all getting a flurry of emails on the regular, but keep your eyes peeled for those sorted under [Opportunity]. iSchool students get exposed to a wide variety of ways to get practical work experience, and you never know how it may impact your career down the road.
• Bring the classroom outside. Whether it’s with people you’ve met through your classes (like how Jessie often did), or just by yourself, visiting local historic places or volunteering at a library, archive or other organization that impacts your studies can be a great experience. Immersing yourself in your studies in a casual and screen-free way adds an additional layer of depth to your time at the iSchool.

Starting college during the pandemic forced me to adapt to online learning out of necessity, but beginning the iSchool as a confident, prepared online learner has made all the difference. It’s been rewarding to see how much the format—and the field—have grown since Jessie’s time, and how the iSchool continues to bridge independence and community through the flexibility of online education.