Graduating Students Honored with Director’s Awards for Excellence

News

Four graduating students of the San José State University School of Information’s Master of Library and Information Science degree program are starting their post-graduate school life with a new award on their résumés. Kristen Chua, Rachel Fleming, Devon Cahill, and Charlie Harmon have all received Director’s Awards for Excellence. These awards are given out to well-deserving students who are nominated or self-nominated for their academic or professional achievements.

Director’s Award for Excellence Recipients

  • Director’s Award for Excellence in International Contribution: Kristen Chua
  • Director’s Award for Excellence in Innovation: Kristen Chua
  • Director’s Award for Excellence in Building Community: Rachel Fleming
  • Director’s Award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion: Devon Cahill
  • Director’s Award for Excellence in Intellectual Inquiry: Charlie Harmon

Kristen ChuaChua is the dual winner of the Director’s Award for Excellence in International Contribution and the Director’s Award for Excellence in Innovation. She shares about her grad school experience: “I’ve been lucky to finish up my master’s degree on a high note and feel more prepared to pursue other educational and professional development opportunities.”

For Chua, one of the highlights of her learning journey is working with Dr. Ghosh in the ICAAN Lab. “When my research paper with the ICANN Lab was published in a peer reviewed publication, it was very exciting because the fruit of our team’s research and labor contributed to the scholarly record,” she elaborates. Chua plans to continue collaborating in the field of informatics and information science. “I’m compiling a reading list and looking for a community of information science or informatics researchers and practitioners that I can grow and share ideas with.”

Rachel FlemingFleming, the recipient of the Director’s Award for Excellence in Building Community has “demonstrated an ability to work collaboratively and strengthen communities of all types.” On receiving the award, she states, “Building community is something I hope to continue for the entirety of my life. We are stronger, more innovative and more effective in strong connected communities than in siloed positions.”

Throughout her time in the MLIS program, she participated in four internships. However, Fleming notes that at her last internship at CSUF’s Research Center “it all became clear, this is what I was meant to do, this is what I enjoy doing. I’ve never felt such a clear sense of purpose and direction.” Fleming’s career goals are to work as an academic librarian and eventually earn her PhD.

Cahill, the recipient of the Director’s Award for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion, has shown “outstanding leadership through a work or community service innovation, internship or scholarly research effort benefiting an economically, linguistically or otherwise diverse service population.”

Harmon has won the Director’s Award for Excellence in Intellectual Inquiry for their “intellectual curiosity above and beyond their required coursework, a passion for learning, and continued learning.”

All four of the Director’s Award for Excellence winners received a gift certificate and citation.