Commonwealth Scholar – The iSchool at Pitt – Page 17 – Check out the life of a graduate Pitt iSchool Commonwealth Scholar!

Job Hunting

On May 29, 2014

As the summer semester has kicked off, so has job hunting. There are about two months left of my program, and though it is more than two thirds of my summer semester, I still can’t help but feel the pressure of the real world, and graduation at the end of July. I have been searching our MLIS listserv, Linked In jobs, the INALJ website, and our iSchool Linked In list of referenced jobs, and have found quite a few that are interesting and right up my alley. Now it is just a matter of piecing together thoughtful, energetic cover letters, and tweaking my resume for each position.

If you had asked me at the beginning of the Fall semester what kind of state of mind I may be in during the Summer semester, I probably would have been certain that I would be overwhelmed with anxiety and restlessness, applying to every job to come my way. However, I am happy to say that at this moment in time, during my summer semester, I am much more relaxed and certain of my capabilities and skill. I have worked hard, and am confident that I will be a true asset to the institution or organization that I end up working for. Though I have experienced multiple ups and downs throughout the program, it has truly been worth it; I know I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience.

And the summer semester begins!

By Angela

On May 16, 2014

In Past Scholars

The interim between the spring and summer semester was filled with travel, rest, and looking forward. My first weekend was spent in Rochester, New York, attending Spring MARAC. MARAC is a valuable opportunity to meet other professionals in the archives field and hear about the current projects and emerging trends and tools. Though this was my second round at MARAC, I attended Fall MARAC in Philadelphia, PA, I continue to learn and forge new relationships at each conference. To the right are my conference name tags, as a New Member at Fall MARAC and a Speaker at Spring MARAC. Spring MARAC featured an invigorating plenary address by Kathleen Roe, and several quality sessions, including a panel session of which I was a panelist! Below is a tweet from the session by Marie Elia (@marieelizabeth) a Pitt alumna. To see more about the session on “Describing Difference: Transparency, Methodology, and Diversity in Organizing Information,” search #s20 #marac on twitter.

"It is unethical not to have a diverse workforce of archivists." Challenge limits of subjectivity by having lots of viewpoints. #marac #s20

— Marie Elia (@marieelizabeth) April 26, 2014

After MARAC I spent some time in Richmond, VA with family and friends, and contemplated what I want to learn from my last semester, and how to prepare myself for the job that I want. I enrolled in the following courses, Records & Information Management, Digital Humanities, Metadata, and Legal Issues in Information Handling: Copyright and Fair Use in the Digital Age. I continued to job hunt, and tweak my current resume and work on a cover letter for a prospective job. Additionally, I considered the skills and tools I want to become familiar with.

Though it has been a short break, roughly 2 weeks, I am definitely ready to take on my third and final semester here, at the iSchool!

Summer is HERE!!

By Jourdan

On May 10, 2014

In Jourdan

I’ve been on break for about 3 weeks and I thought I’d give an update on my life.
I finished my
second semester of grad school with my sanity intact!!! I have a 3.57 cumulative GPA. I’m a little bummed that it went down, but the semester went a lot better than I expected and I learned a lot from every course I took (Intro to Telecommunications…, Human Factors…, Interactive System Design). My favorite was Interactive System Design because I was able to take one of my interests, user experience, and apply it to projects.

Towards the end of the semester, I accepted an internship offer with Accenture. I’m very excited to land this opportunity because I’ve always been interested in consulting. Now, I get to see how it works and apply my technical experience. Not to mention, I will be home for the summer so I can see all of my friends and family whenever I please! I’m a little sad not to be in Pittsburgh, but it’s okay. I can catch up with my buddies every once in awhile.

So yeah…that’s what’s going on with me! I’ll update you on how the internship is going in June! I hope everyone has a great summer!