Hello! This is my last blog post and it feels nice to write about the end of a time and transitioning to another part of life. Thank you for reading along. <3  

It was so nice to graduate with everyone this past weekend. I think sometimes school can be a lonely thing we all end up doing and graduation ceremonies are a wonderful time to see everyone sit together, celebrate, and be reflective, even if we are all sweating in a hot gymnasium. Also, there’s a nice pause that graduations bring, where we don’t have to have all the answers and we don’t need to rush excitement and joy. I am so grateful to have had the support and guidance to complete the MSLIS degree. It is so surreal to be done with school, well, knowing myself, I am hopeful to pursue more school when it makes sense to. Additionally, I enjoyed the convocation ceremony because I got to chat with other graduates and hear about their dreams, interests, and feelings of gratitude which is always so amazing. The library information sciences field brings people with so many skills whether that is academic or artistic backgrounds together.  

And it reminds me of how this field is dedicated to bridging the actions and ideologies of information access, memory preservation, literacy curriculum, archives, reparations, inclusive metadata, to name a few, to people. Agency has been a consistent idea that professors and coursework have urged as a responsibility of librarians and information science professionals. Agency, pedagogically, agency in the sense of how people access stories and narratives, agency in writing ourselves into history, or agency in the relationships we cherish and care for in life. At its core, it is vital that we become professionals that work towards academic excellence and social responsibility as Dr. Alkalimat reminds his students. There is value in collaboration, dismantling oppressive powers and power dynamics, and making sure that we are critical of institutions. Finally, life-long learning is key, it’s the best answer to living in a world with more questions than answers.  

Thank you will never be enough to all the professors, classmates, family, loved ones, mentors, that have supported and inspired my time at the iSchool. I will always cherish the lessons I have learned and the friendships that brought me to a more confident place. And thank you to Uyen and Emma who have edited these blog posts and uploaded them to our page, you both are the best! <3