iSchool Student Deana Uribe Wins $4,000 Graduate Equity Fellowship Award

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Deana Uribe

The School of Information at San José State University is pleased to announce that Deana Uribe, Master of Library and Information Science student, has won a Graduate Equity Fellowship award from the university.

Interim Dean Marc d’Alarcao, who oversaw the 2019-2020 selection committee, stated, “Deana Uribe was selected for a Graduate Equity Fellowship because of both her high-quality academic work and her passion to pursue a career as a librarian. The review committee was deeply impressed with Deana’s commitment to work at the community level, as well as in her program of study through a totally online program.”

The selection committee recognized that while pursuing her MLIS degree, Uribe is also doing “outstanding library field work” to an underserved community in East Los Angeles. Through her experiential and academic work “she has acquired essential insights into the challenging ethical dimensions required of evaluating direct public service for children and youth,” d’Alarcao said.

Uribe had just started her second year of the MLIS program at the iSchool when she learned she’d won the award. “I was moved with deep gratitude. I felt speechless!” she exclaimed. “I decided to apply for the award because I had never applied for a scholarship before and wanted to give it a shot. My circumstances fit the necessary specifications to apply, which also helped.”

Uribe credited the support and guidance of her family, classmates, co-workers, and her faculty mentor, Professor Anthony Bernier, with helping her follow through on the application process. “I’m honored to have received the award, and I hope other iSchool students feel inspired to apply,” she said.

Bernier, a critical youth studies scholar and historian, noted that Uribe earning the Graduate Equity Fellowship award was a consequence of “making herself available and nominating herself for awards, recognitions, and appointments,” and that as her faculty mentor, he was gratified to know the award will substantially ease the economic burden of pursuing her professional aspirations.

“It’s especially gratifying for me because Deana aspires to develop her skills and capacities for improving library services for young people. I’m looking forward to our monthly check-in meetings to more closely observe and admire her progress toward graduation,” he said.

Uribe, who works as a messenger clerk at the Los Angeles Public Library, is following the public librarianship career pathway. With the added support of the Graduate Equity Fellowship award in her sails, Uribe is confident she’ll achieve her career goals: “I plan to work as a librarian in a public library, to continue learning throughout my career, and take on new challenges along the way.”

The SJSU Graduate Equity Fellowship awards program encourages and assists economically disadvantaged students in the pursuit and completion of their master’s degree programs. It acknowledges students like Uribe who have success in overcoming financial barriers and helps them complete their educational program by minimizing their debt burden; awards range from $2,000-$4,000 per year. The program offers opportunities for faculty mentoring and draws from a diverse group of applicants.