Name: Erin Durham
Degree Program: HILS (History MA and MLIS) Why did I decide to participate? I am very interested in developing my skills as a library educator, and I was excited about the opportunity to discuss and practice how to be a more aware and inclusive in my interactions with students. The wonderful diversity of readings and discussion topics in the course syllabus was very appealing as well. My MLS classes were great, but I wanted opportunities to have hands on practice, and this summer institute included practical skills as an instructional librarian. What is your favorite memory from DII? I loved our discussion sessions as a DII cohort. Dr. Williams helped set the tone for the institute as a safe space to explore race, class, and gender dynamics. I liked her focus on making the learning environment a safe one for all students. I think her session was on the first day, and it really helped me to feel comfortable in my own skin and in respecting all of the participants there. I felt spoiled beginning those summer mornings with a cup of orange juice and fruit and talking about interesting issues. I enjoyed hearing stories and experiences from those in our group- I really learned from all who participated. How do you believe your DII expereince will be applicable to your career in the information profession and/or life in general? I gained more confidence in my abilities as a reference librarian and saw greater possibilities for public services and outreach in my future work. The DII provided marvelous networking across campus and in the library, and I was made aware of wonderful services and programs such as the TLTC. Our DII discussion sessions were very insightful, and helped me think much more critically about how the media portrays race and age and class status- which I use in my everyday media consumption. Working with the Masterpiece students also helped me reflect on my interactions with people from various backgrounds within an academic environment. Anything Else? This program was fantastic with all of the various components to it- there was time to practice working with the students, for networking, and expanding my ideas about critical literacy through reading and discussion. I enjoyed how varied the material was. I thought Tahirah Akbar-Williams and Cynthia Sorrell did a marvelous job organizing it.
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Name: Luz Maria Flores
Degree Program: Master in Library and Information Science (Individual Program Plan) Why did you decide to participate in the Diversity Immersion Institute? I decided to participate in DII because I want to work in public libraries and wanted more insight on working with and for diverse populations. I also wanted the opportunities to work with other librarians, future librarians and professors. What is your favorite memory from DII? My favorite memory of DII was creating the Pokemon Scavenger Hunt for the Lifepieces to Masterpieces apprentices with another library student, Gwen Hambright. We really wanted to create an activity that would engage the apprentices, so we thought a scavenger hunt would be a great way to have fun and go over everything they learned while they attended DII, Gwen thought it would be great to spin it off Pokemon because the virtual game had just come out. Coming up with clues and tying the scavenger hunt with social media was lots of fun. How do you believe your DII experience will be applicable to your career in the information profession &/or life in general? I think all the information that I gained will be useful in my future profession as a librarian and in life in general. Learning and talking about teaching, critical literacy and micro-aggression really help me look at my academic life and see where I can stand up and say something. I learned that often times being there and supporting other ideas is the best way to tell colleagues you believe in them. All my experience was invaluable and I would totally participate again, if given the opportunity.
Name: Gwen Hambright
Degree Program: Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS), University of Maryland iSchool Why did you decide to participate in the Diversity Immersion Institute? When I got the email about DII I was instantly interested in participating in the program. With my background being in education I have spent a lot of time considering diversity and how to best meet the needs of diverse learners. Additionally, I have always been interested in different cultures and perspectives (something I always tried to pass on to my students). Since I am currently in the MLIS program at UMD's iSchool I decided to participate in the DII program to get a better idea of how diversity can be embraced in the field of information science. What is your favorite memory from DII? I really enjoyed getting to meet other iSchool graduate students, especially students who are as passionate as me about diversity and inclusion. The discussions we had were really thought provoking and I definitely feel I came away from the discussions with new insights. I also really enjoyed working with Luz (one of the other graduate students) to put together a scavenger hunt for the Life Pieces to Masterpieces (LPTM) apprentices to complete. Thinking of ways to keep them engaged and having fun while still learning about the library and being a library was a lot of fun. Also, the apprentices from LPTM were such a delight to work with; they're a really great bunch of young men. How do you believe your DII experience will be applicable to your career in the information profession &/or life in general? The institute really reminded me that even if people look similar they are guaranteed to have different life experiences that influence their perspective on the world. The discussion we had on microaggressions with Dr. Jackson made me much more aware of the ways people unconsciously promote "isms" (sexism, agism, racism, etc.). This isn't something I have consciously reflected on in the past; I knew it happened, but never thought about it. Dr. Jackson's comment that if other people know someone's behavior is offensive, they need to speak up really resonated with me. If I see something, I should say something. Ever since the discussion I have been much more aware of my own interactions, and the interactions of others. I feel this awareness will help me in my career as a librarian when I work with both members of the community and also my colleagues. I will be better enabled to foster a positive community for everyone in the library. Anything else you want to add? I think this was an excellent program, and I hope it is continued next year so that I can participate again. I would definitely recommend other iSchool students to get involved. ***Below I have included the presentation I did with the LPTM apprentices on information literacy as well as the instructions for the library scavenger hunt so you can have a visual example of what we did :)*** |
AboutGraduate student reflections on their experience participating in the Diversity Immersion Institute. Archives |