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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 at April 13, 2007 09:57 PM
