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The End of All Things
It's finally here! The end of graduate school as I know it. I finished writing my final paper Tuesday night and submitted it and returned the mountains of books I checked out from the library. Hip, hip, hooray! :o) My first thought upon completing my paper was, "Now what do I do? I get to sleep? Really?" hahaha :o) This last and final paper (forever and ever!) was for my external cognate class and it was pretty tough to do because I had a rather tough semester with the whole course--dealing with a totally different department culture, a decidedly different academic focus (as opposed to my comfortable and usual practical project focus at SI), and surprise at getting a content focus that I wasn't expecting (definitely history and not necessarily practical film terminology).
I've also wrapped up my archive internship and gave them a great deliverable. I have to say, I think this was one of my very favorite classes here at SI (the Archive Practicum). It started out a little rough because I had to change my internship half-way through the semester, but my second and final internship was exactly what I needed and wanted. I'm really proud that I've been able to find an innovative solution for the Bentley Library's online exhibit for the History of Computing collections. The speakers during the semester were really interesting and I learned a lot about best practices in a variety of different types of archives, archival settings, and archive uses.
My usability evaluation group (for the class Evaluations of Systems and Services) also delivered our project to our client and class. It was a huge success! You can see our reports published online here: http://www.lib.umich.edu/usability/projects/MBooks.html. We were all really proud of the work we did in this project and talk about learning a lot! I used our reports as examples from my portfolio when I interviewed for my upcoming job with the Disney Internet Group and I definitely plan to use some of the evaluation techniques to determine which archival solutions are best for the company.
On Friday this week my parents are arriving from out-of-town and we will be going to the SI graduation ceremony and reception. I'm really looking forward to this so that my mom and dad can meet the incredible staff here at school and see some of my friends and their families too. I got my cap and gown for pictures (of course!) but I don't actually need this for Friday. Instead, it's really meant for the Saturday commencement when we'll all go hear President Clinton give the commencement address. Technically speaking, Saturday's commencement is for the undergrads, but who can pass up a chance to hear a huge speaker like this? It should be very interesting and I'm looking forward to it. Afterwards, my family and I are going to enjoy some fabulous sushi at my favorite Japanese restaurant in town. :o)
Other than all of this madness, I have been getting early cost estimates and apartment availability notices to make my Big Move to Los Angeles. My start date looks to be May 29 and I'm starting to get very excited about all of it! I'm really looking forward to living in a place where there is lots of sunshine and palm trees. I'm a tropical girl at heart, not to mention a big city and concrete lover, so this is definitely the perfect destination. :o) I will be going to LA in about a week and a half to visit my top 3-5 apartments and then will sign a lease. I am extremely happy with my salary/benefits package and my signing bonus will be more than enough to cover moving costs. It's really cool to be able to see all of my hard work pay off in the end! When I moved into my apartment in August 2005, I vowed that when I graduated I would get a fantastic job that would pay for someone else to haul all of my boxes for me. :o) Apparently wishes do come true! It still hasn't fully sunk in yet that I have, in fact, landed my dream job right out of grad school. I don't think it will really seem real until I get there and start to get settled into my new office.
I'm also busy filling out forms ("exit interviews") for my student loans. I'll have to start paying those in 6-9 months depending on the type of loan. But I'm not worried about that in the least because I'll be able to afford it now--that's why I went to grad school, after all. It's definitely given me a step up in the world. There is also the SI alumni information that I've been browsing through. I just updated some information today online and checked the nifty box that puts me in the student-alumni network at SI. I have received invaluable help from some alumni in the couple of years that I've been here, so now I figure that it's my turn to pass it on. :o) I even received some help with some alumni who are listed in LA--they just gave me some great housing advice last week. It's pretty cool that even though I didn't go to school at the same time as these folks, that they are totally willing to help me out simply because we went through the same program. It's kind of like an extended family, which is really comforting.
So, with hindsight now, my words of advice are this: If you know you want something, then just go for it. Having an idea of what you want is the best thing to help guide you through grad school. Even if you don't know what you want, exactly, the act of simply taking charge of your own path will make you a lot more motivated, successful, and content when all is said and done. And with that, I will sign off here. I'll be posting another blog or two before I leave Ann Arbor and will be winding down my job here with SI Admissions as well. So, feel free to send me any emails but pretty soon I'll be forwarding messages on to some current folks at SI. I will definitely not be answering emails for SI Admissions after May 20 which will be so sad! But I wish everyone the best of luck!
And now without further ado, I must sign off! Today is my last day at the Knowledge Navigation Center so it's a busy day. Until next time...
-maw :o)
Posted by maryaw on April 25, 2007 at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)
My Big Announcement
I have wonderful news! I have been offered and have accepted my dream job. :o) I have been offered and accepted the position as the one and only digital archivist for Disney Online at the Disney Internet Group in Los Angeles, California. :o) They flew me out last weekend and I met with about 10 creative managers and directors early in the week and it went very well! Aside from being absolutely in love with the sunshine and palm trees, the staff was amazing--they are a very creative and tech savvy group and I've been told their decision was unanimous that they want me to join the team. WDIG is already quite large and getting bigger by the day in both content and staff, so the archive unit will probably grow quickly after I get them set up for a couple of years. The websites include Disney.com, ABC.com, ABCnews.com, ESPN.com, FamilyFun.com, etc. They haven't had an archivist in about 3 years and never a digital archivist--been a long time searching. It's going to be a huge job to do, but I'm super excited about the prospects--I came into grad school saying that this is what I wanted to do when I graduated and now I finally got it. :o) I just did some salary negotiation today and my tentative start date is May 28. Just in time for summer! :o) Other than that, my final semester of grad school is winding down--I walk in the official grad school ceremonies on Friday 4/27 and then to see Bill Clinton give the commencement address on Saturday 4/28.
Posted by maryaw on April 16, 2007 at 07:44 PM | Comments (1)
Late entry!
Hello, fearless readers!
I'm writing this on the plane to Los Angeles, California for a really exciting interview with an entertainment company. I got to leave behind the strangely snowy April weather in Michigan for the sunshine and palm trees of the west coast. I'm super excited because they're flying me out and putting me up at a really nice hotel--according to Hotels.com, I should be able to enjoy a very nice buffet spread to rival the likes of Las Vegas. :o) Being a bit of a foodie, I have to say I'm totally geeked because I can't think of anything better than a brunch buffet! On the more serious side, I've been getting all of my materials organized for the past week--I have decked out my new MacBook (her name is Lola :o) with all my preparatory materials to make sure I really 'wow' my panel of 9 (yes, 9 people... holy wow!):
- I took my portfolio files offline and put them onto my desktop for easier access so that I can show them some of the projects I have and currently am working on which apply directly to the needs of their organization
- Additional notes and solutions that I have been brainstorming with the information I have from my first interview on the phone
- Employment forms, as requested
- An abbreviated CV (it's really just a compilation of the major skill sets and jobs that I've had--for easier access
- And I have been looking at the the websites that my job would be related to for a little extra research
"Distracting?", you ask. Oh, how you have NO idea... We are really down to the wire here at school--last day of classes is on April 17 (next week) and I get to walk in my cap and gown for graduation on April 27. President Clinton is the commencement speaker on April 28, so I'll be going to that also even though the crowds are going to be absolutely crazy in Ann Arbor! My parents are coming to see my graduation and they are very excited about being able to see Clinton speak. So, in addition to figuring out graduation stuff like picking up tickets for Clinton's speech and getting my cap, gown, tassels, etc. I am off interviewing in LA and trying to get work done while keeping my head on straight with all my excitement about this position in addition to final projects and papers.
My usability evaluation group is wrapping up our final report and presentation which should be pretty good. We've done a really good job which is reflected in our grades and the feedback from our client. I'm really glad I took this class because it has helped me to understand a full evaluation of a product and service.
My archive internship is just about wrapped up. I also preparing my final presentation and deliverable which I hope will be really exciting for everyone else to see. I came up with a non-traditional solution for the web portal timeline. It just isn't linear and linear is boring for this type of project--through exposure at SI to things like networked diagrams and cluster maps and a serendipitous discussion on the SLA News Library email listserv, I decided to propose that the "timeline" be a networked diagram to show associations between collections. I think this will help researchers much better in the long run, it will be totally different than anything that the Bentley has had thus far, and the functionality will suit the nature of the collection really well (Computing History at UM). I need to finish flagging the multimedia items that I would like to select for the first version of this portal before the end of this week, however; it's going to be a busy week.
My outside cognate course on film theory is also weighing heavily on my workload. I have to give a mini-lecture/presenation this week about my final paper and I've checked out what feels like half of the library in addition to the electronic journal articles stored on my laptop. Hopefully on my red-eye flight back from LA Monday night I'll be able to start chugging away at this really seriously. I have to confess, the whole class just went completely on the back burner this semester. Not something I'm totally happy about, and certainly not proud of, but unfortunately I don't think it was unavoidable. The final paper for this is due around April 23 so I'm really looking forward to the 17th, b/c then I'll only have to work on this paper and can really get it done. I'm trying to do a comparative historical analysis in sound technology developments but I haven't been able to nail down the focus just yet. Rar.
Work has also been busy. 'Tis the time of the year when the Knowledge Navigation Center gets busy with last minute technology and software woes that need fixing. SI just recently had Visiting Days for the newly admitted Fall 2007 class which was great! Busy, but great--everyone seemed super enthusiastic and I was able to organize an amazing number of current students who wanted to participate in the student activities. There were lots of questions about the new specializations, which you can read about here: http://www.si.umich.edu/msi/specs.htm. And financial aid (always a hot topic): http://www.si.umich.edu/applying/fin-aid.htm. I've also had quite a few questions recently about "what can I do with an MSI degree?" and how the interdisciplinary approach can apply to many different paths. It's worth pointing out some great information and tools on the Career Services page of the SI website:
- Follow career paths through course choices: http://www.si.umich.edu/careers/with-an-msi.htm
- some statistics: http://www.si.umich.edu/careers/MSI-profile.htm
- Companies that have hired SI grads: http://www.si.umich.edu/careers/who-is-hiring.htm
It's also worth looking at students' previous projects and practical experiences:
- Exposition was the poster session at Visiting Days and it was really cool to see everyone's projects: http://www.si.umich.edu/stulife/student-projects.htm
- Learn about the practical engagement credits that are part of the SI curriculum: http://www.si.umich.edu/outreach/pep.htm
- Look at previous internships: http://www.si.umich.edu/outreach/dfe-previous.htm
And take a peek at the job search tools provided by SI Career Services: http://www.si.umich.edu/careers/resources.htm
I can attest to the greatness of these tools! :o) They have definitely helped me out during my job search and interviewing processes.
Ok, so this post is coming late to you all and if you've emailed recently, I must apologize for getting back to you late! I got back to Ann Arbor from California earlier this week and am now getting to my emails. Happy trails and I'll be updating you with the most exciting information early next week!
Posted by maryaw on April 13, 2007 at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)
Photos are here!
Hey everyone--
I've created a couple of Flickr albums for a couple of the trips I've taken this year.
1. Seattle: American Libraries Association midwinter conference. You can see it here.
2. New York City: my spring break trip to visit NYC and see the New York Public Library. You can see this album here.
My coming entries this week will be:
- Visiting Days recap & Exposition
- The New York City blog (finally!)
- random updates (1 month till graduation!)
Holy cow... busy times! I'm also going to LA either this week or next (I think), courtesy of a very generous company. Very excited! So, if you send me an emails, please remember to do the following:
- make sure the subject line uses the words "School of Information" so that I don't lose your message; I get lots of spam every day with subjects that just say 'hello' or 're:' and they get put in the trash right away
- if it's SUPER urgent, please use the word 'urgent' in the subject line also--this way I'll get back to you ASAP
- since I'm in and out of town a lot, pardon any delayed responses! I usually get back to everyone w/in a week of sending the message.
Ok folks, gotta jet--will update you all later this week.
-maw :o)
Posted by maryaw on April 01, 2007 at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)
