Author: jdmorgan@illinois.edu

Today we go in-depth, no holds barred, super-duper-softball-questions with 2003 Team Awesome alum, Katie Dunneback. Katie is currently working at a federal library in DC—well, if we’re being literal, she’s doing work for a federal library in DC from a top-secret remote location (her parents’ home in Chicago!).

Anything going on in life right now that’s especially awesome, bearing in mind that simply surviving is really pretty damned awesome?

My “pandemic project” was to launch a YouTube channel and associated Instagram account focusing on planners and goal setting called Crafting Ruby Dreams. I’ve also been digging into Clifton Strengths, and learning a lot about myself as a person and as a fiction writer. I’m looking forward to getting back into writing fiction again in 2021.

What do you remember best about your time on Team Awesome? Any particular stories you want to share?

The camaraderie of the cohort I worked with, even though I was only there 10 hours a week since I split my GA time with #TeamAwesome and the Vet Med library (RIP). The two things I remember best about my time is frequently resetting Don Krummel’s 16mm film reels. There was one time I had to reorient one from being both backwards *AND* upside down, but I managed it! The other was dressing up for Halloween with the rest of #TeamAwesome and posing with Brynnen in the lobby between 126 and 131.

Do you find yourself using Team Awesome skills in your current life?

I’m often the tech support for my parents’ even though I’m halfway across the country. I also use a lot of the skills I learned in my personal life, like figuring out the setup I need for working from home or the YouTube channel. I don’t use the hard skills for the day job as I’d get in trouble (😁), but I do use the thought processes I developed for sorting out various system issues I encounter. But having the language of tech support helps me when dealing with my office’s tech support.

What was your favorite class or instructor when you were in school?

I loved the Networking class with Martin as I learned a lot of useful skills I’ve been able to use through the years. I also really enjoyed Cataloging I with Linda Bial as I’m constantly relying on what I learned in that class these days. Science Reference with Linda Smith was another favorite. But I think my absolute favorite was Adult Popular Literature since I led the petition campaign to bring it back!

Any regrets about your time here? (a class you wish you’d taken, a club you should have joined, etc.)

No real regrets from me. For classes, it helped that my mom was a practicing librarian and gave me a lot of direction on what classes to take. I also made a lot of great friendships through my time at Illinois, and routinely see friends at library conferences when I’m able to attend.

Cat or dog?

I’m a dog person, but I’m sans pets at the moment.

What’s your favorite meme?

Ohhhh!! Good question. I cannot pick just one.

Any recommendations for good TV shows?

DERRY GIRLS! I went to an all-girls Catholic high school in the early-90s (Chicago, not Ireland, though) and may have had a few flashbacks.

Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck?

Hmmmm…duck-sized horses have the numbers, but a horse-sized duck has the bulk and they’re effing mean. I’ll go with duck-sized horses!

I’m super excited to share our first 2021 Team Awesome alum profile with you! Troy Babbs graduated in 2014 (which he asserts is the best year to have graduated), and he’s three credits shy of getting is CAS. He’s a local, living north of Champaign, and working as the Marketing Manager at a digital forensics/cybersecurity firm based out of Chicago and Miami. If this picture doesn’t convince you of how wonderful Troy is, keep reading. You’ll know how great he is by the end of his profile, hilariously written by him and left largely unedited by me because, well, I’ll let him tell the story in his own words . . .

Anything going on in life right now that’s especially awesome, bearing in mind that simply surviving is really pretty damned awesome right now?

Besides depression? I started as a part-time social media coordinator at my current job and now have full-time hours composing lots of blog posts, doing research, touching up Website design and selling myself/the company to maximize prospects and solve problems. EXCITING!! Plus, lots of side hustles such as the TV And A Movie podcast I do with my daughter in an effort to get more female voices in the podcast world…and an opportunity to swear at each other in public! (Set to release in January 2021 – please grade us on a curve).

What do you remember best about your days as a GA? Any funny/crazy stories you can share?

• We literally had the best Help Desk staff in the history of Help Desking (sorry to break this to everyone else but I’m pretty sure you’re awesome in your own way).
• There was the gentleman who was looking for light-up pens that the iSchool of old had. They had a sentimental attachment for him and I hunted down some castaway pens in the main office. After sending them to him, we looked up his Website and discovered an Angelfire-like, bells and whistles laden diatribe against left-wing politics. (oof)
• Back in the days of every class being personed by an ITD TA, there was a teacher running late for their first class of the semester. We were chatting in our Lync room and, as soon as the TA called the class off, I yelled down the hallway that he just logged on and the sound of screaming/laughing reverberated down the hallway!
• Becca McGuire and I CRUSHED our Web page/HTML seminar…use your search engine skills to dig that up!
• The last shift before a Winter break, Madison Sullivan and I had a ‘90’s boy band YouTube marathon all…day…long!
• And how could I forget my first week as a GA/TA when the building flooded and we had to go into action mode to save computers and salvage what we could? Plus we scored free donuts for it. What is better to a GA/TA than free food?!
• My ultimate legacy is what has been considered to be the best Moodle profile in the game. My daughter has pledged to have it displayed on the wall of the auditorium where we will have my funereal celebration. (My penultimate legacy is the smattering of “Take It To The Moodle” bumper stickers that are still scattered around the building.)

Do you find yourself using Team Awesome skills in your current life?

Research, research, research!! In addition to analyzing stats and optimizing SEO results, all in efforts to expand our reach…and maybe teach people a little thing or two about life along the way.

What was your favorite class or instructor when you were in school?

• I had Leigh Estabrook for my initial 502 course and that was a great introduction to the program.
• Always a fan of Karen Wickett and Dave Dubin (oh, those wondrous game nights!!).
• I tried to resist taking 562 – Metadata for the longest time but it turned out it was the most valuable class I took!
• My favorite class I DIDN’T take was Bobby Bothmann’s Cataloguing class. Being a TA definitely had its perks!

Any regrets such as a class you wish you had taken, a club you should have joined, an event you weren’t able to go to, etc.?

I was fortunate to take advantage of almost every opportunity available to me, be it Dublin Core, SLA and ALA conferences and being the Treasurer of the SLA board.

Favorite meme?

As a meme connoisseur I have the innate ability to gather and examine all memes.

• • Cat and woman pointing memes but ONLY when they relate to UX…don’t be a poser and post anything else. Keep this meme pure.
  • Wholesome memes are bae and never turn out to be just fam.
  • Twin Peaks memes are art. (James is, and always will be, cool.)
  • (Another shameless plug – I’m more of a Vine connoisseur and you can go to Facebook and follow the page I run with my bestie (whom I met through GSLIS), Troy & Hilly’s Daily Vinespirations, for PREMIUM Vine curation!)

Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck?

Look I am literally a liker not a fighter but IF I was faced with such a quandary and couldn’t win them over with my effusive personality, I would have to face a horse-sized duck because one loaf of bread would keep them distracted until I could get a saddle and make them my go-to transportation.

Cat or dog or ???

Well I’m a library school graduate where they give you a cat with your diploma so what do you think? (Another shameless plug – go to Facebook and follow Li’l Hits The Best Cat In The Universe. This is scientifically proven.)