A bit about me!

I am a student at the University of Oklahoma studying for my Master in Library and Information Studies degree. I am originally from Bentonville, Arkansas, but I studied for my Bachelor’s degree at Utah State University. There I graduated with a degree in American Studies with minors in History, Art History, and Anthropology, and I received a Museum Studies certificate.

I went on to intern at a city history museum where I curated a permanent exhibit on the town’s main street. I went on to develop a strong passion for rare books when I collaboratively curated a rare book exhibit at Utah State University’s Archive and Special Collections. My next venture was curating an exhibit for the GeoScience school on geologic photography right before I graduated.

After graduating, I spent a year as a Tulsa Service Year School and Community Engagement Fellow at the Philbrook Museum of Art. I really enjoyed my time working in museum education and I especially enjoyed working at an art institution again. After the fellowship at Philbrook, they offered me a position to stay as Assistant Registrar until I started school. It was in this position where I was able to work closer with databases and information organization and my surety in the path I was taking was solidified. I had never felt more comfortable in a new job role before. I wasn’t sure I would love working the back end of collections, but I fell in love with it.

The focus of my MLIS journey has been on archives and collections. I have always felt strongly about historical objects and preserving the stories they have to share, and guaranteeing safe access to these resources. After my registrar position, I developed interest in not just working physically with these objects, but learning more about how to design and operate databases efficiently. As I started the MLIS program, I worked as a Graduate Assistant at OU-Tulsa’s Schusterman Library, which was my first library position I have held. It was in this position when I realized I wanted to grow my skills on efficiently and effectively searching for relevant information for researchers and I also developed an interest in working in academic research organizations.

During the program, I have been engaged as a Rare Book Cataloger volunteer and intern at the University of Tulsa's Special Collections. I have loved every minute of working with rare paperbacks, author libraries, and hand pressed books.