Meet the Graduate Assistants: Matthew Byrd

Here at our remote Team Awesome headquarters we’re taking time to think about the people who make us so great. You’re already familiar with their hard-working, tech-supporting, can-do attitudes. Now we pull the curtain back a little bit further so that you can get to know them better. Today, we’re featuring soon be graduate Matthew Byrd, who is hoping to work at a public library in Chicagoland.

Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it?

I am from the North Side of Chicago and currently live in the city’s Rogers Park neighborhood. I don’t get to do much of it now due to COVID-19, but my absolute favorite part of living in Chicago is being able to take the train or bus or walk into any neighborhood in the city and find something unexpected or that you’d never seen before.

What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?

I love helping solve problems and making the work of iSchool faculty, staff, and students as smooth as possible by doing so.

Favorite catchphrase?

Goofy’s laugh and “Gorsh”

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, what would you eat?

Clam chowder

What is (or would be) your go-to karaoke song?

Here Comes Your Man by The Pixies

If you had to choose, would you rather it rained gummy bears, M&Ms, or potato chips?

M&Ms

What was your silliest/most embarrassing teenage phase? 

Brief country boy phase – flannel shirts, carharts, boots, etc.

Who would win in a fight between a trillion lions and the sun? 

The sun – a trillion lions is not even a speck on the sun

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Krystjana (Krysta) Bruce

Here at our remote Team Awesome bunker we’re taking time to think about the people who make us great. You’re already familiar with their hard-working, tech-supporting, can-do attitudes. Now we pull the curtain back a little bit further so that you can get to know them better. Today, we’re featuring first-year student Krysta Bruce. We all know that plans can change, but right now she’s hoping to be an archivist after graduating: Corporate? Library? Museum? Who knows?! Wherever it is, she can’t wait to dive in.

Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it?

I’m from a little town in Northeast Pennsylvania. It is called Gouldsboro. It is near Scranton which more people have heard of then my tiny town. I love that it is in the mountains. I love that it is so easy to see wild animals like bears, foxes, and beavers. It makes going out on a drive a little like an adventure.

What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?

I love all the people I got to meet through this job already. I love that the other GAs feel like a family, and it is comfortable to ask for help or simply talk with each other. It made moving to a new place much easier since the atmosphere is so welcoming.

Favorite catchphrase?

Let’s go!

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, what would you eat?

Chicken Tortellini

What is (or would be) your go-to karaoke song?

Dynamite by BTS

If you had to choose, would you rather it rained gummy bears, M&Ms, or potato chips?

Gummy bears

What was your most silliest/most embarrassing teenage phase?

Emo phase thwarted by parents but wore navy blue instead of black to sneak it in anyway

Who would win in a fight between a trillion lions and the sun?

The sun – Lions will turned into cooked meat.

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Kailey Bowen

Here at our remote Team Awesome headquarters we’re taking time to think about the people who make us so great. You’re already familiar with their hard-working, tech-supporting, can-do attitudes. Now we pull the curtain back a little bit further so that you can get to know them better. Today, we’re featuring second-year student Kailey Bowen. When she graduates, she plans to work in an academic library.

photo of Kailey Bowen

Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it?

I’m from Goodrich, Michigan, which is about an hour north of Detroit. Since I’ve left, I’ve gotten very homesick during the Fall because I miss all the trees. There are tons of trees in Michigan, so you’ll be driving on the highway or on the back roads and will basically be driving through a forest. It’s beautiful in the Fall, and I miss it.

What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?

I love how immersed in the iSchool community I’ve become due to working at the Help Desk. I’ve worked with so many students, staff, and faculty, and I’ve loved hearing about what everyone is working on. It’s interesting for me to see how everyone plays their part to make the iSchool what it is.

Favorite catchphrase?

Of course! Sounds good!

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, what would you eat?

Chicken alfredo

What is (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? 

Promises by Def Leppard

If you had to choose, would you rather it rained gummy bears, M&Ms, or potato chips?

Gummy bears

What was your silliest/most embarrassing teenage phase? 

From 7th to 12th grade straightened hair everyday

Who would win in a fight between a trillion lions and the sun? 

The sun obviously. It’s the sun, so they won’t even get close to it.

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Starting Next Tuesday

Here at Team Awesome, we pride ourselves on providing you with top-notch support. But we’re more than just the friendly voice on the phone or the speedily typed response to your tech chat question. Starting next week, you’ll get to know more about each of the graduate assistants who are part of Team Awesome. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday until you’ve met all twelve members of the team. The final post will come to you on Thanksgiving–that’s not an accident. We’re incredibly thankful for everything they do.

Meet the GAs

Kailey Bowen, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Kailey is a second-year student in the MS/LIS program from Goodrich, MI. She earned her undergraduate degree at Oakland University, where she studied English and Writing & Rhetoric. Some Classic Kailey Moves include getting her hair caught in things, constantly dropping things, and buying the wrong thing at the grocery store.

Krystjana Bruce, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Krystjana is a first year student in the MS/LIS program from Gouldsboro, PA. She earned her undergraduate degree at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, where she studied History, Political Science, and International Studies. She came to the iSchool, UIUC has the biggest public school library in the country. In her spare time, Krystjana loves to watch foreign dramas and read supernatural or historical fiction books. She hopes to become an archivist.

Matthew Byrd, MS/LIS student

he/him/his

Matthew is a second-year student in the MS/LIS program, born and raised in Chicago, who currently lives in the city’s Rogers Park neighborhood. He has a degree in History and English from the University of Iowa. He hopes to become a public librarian. Outside of school, Matthew loves watching movies, reading historical non-fiction, creating more Spotify playlists, and anything to do with his beloved Chicago Bears.

Abbie Mills, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Abbie is a first-year student in the MS/LIS program from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Her educational background is art with a concentration in photography and minors in sociology and marketing. Following undergrad, Abbie worked professionally as a photographer for a studio in Bourbonnais for 3 years. She can still be found photographing weddings, seniors, families, and engagement sessions whenever she gets a spare moment. Her other passions include: reading, looking for Free Little Libraries, exploring small towns, and going on long walks. She hopes to work as a school librarian following graduation.

Hanh Nguyen, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Hanh is from Vietnam and is a second-year student in the MS/LIS program. She earned her undergraduate degree in accounting from Purdue University, Indiana. Her interest includes data and asset management, and information organization. Outside of the office, she enjoys hiking, baking, and volunteering.

Katie Peterson, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Katie is a first-year student from Naperville, Illinois. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Middle Level Education and was a 7th grade math teacher for two years. Katie’s interests include biking, trumpeting, playing board games, and doing anything creative.

Sophie Popovich, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Sophie is a second-year student in the MS/LIS program from Plainfield, Illinois. Her educational background is in history and women and gender studies. Her passions include information literacy, community outreach, musical theatre, and Captain America. One of her many skills is pretending Avengers: Endgame does not exist. She hopes to work as a public librarian following graduation.

 

Cheyenne Puetz, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Cheyenne is a first-year student in the MS/LIS program and is from New Vienna, Iowa. She got her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in English with a minor in Human Relations and a Certificate in Writing. In her free time, she likes to fangirl over all things Harry Styles, rewatch New Girl and Schitt’s Creek, and bake cookies and scones. She hopes to become a school librarian or youth services librarian after graduation.

Dana Queen, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Dana is a second-year student in the MS/LIS program and is from Hammond, WI. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota in Anthropology and History. Outside of school and work, she likes to listen to podcasts and audiobooks, watch movies, and nap. She hopes to be work in collection development after graduation.

Paul Richmond, MS/LIS student

he/him/his

Paul is a second-year student in the MS/LIS program from Holland, MI. He got his undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature from Oberlin College with a focus on German and translation. His interests include independent video games and comics, plus a recently developed fascination with tabletop role playing games. Talk to him about any kind of media, but be prepared for a long conversation if the X-Men come up.

Clelia Sweeney, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Clelia is a first-year graduate student in the MS/LIS program, raised in rural Vermont. She graduated with from DePaul University with a BA in American Studies, focusing on popular culture and media, as well as a partial minor in Journalism. She is passionate about public service, information access, history, all of the arts, and karaoke. She is excited to become a public librarian upon graduation.

 

Mariah Tennell, MS/LIS student

she/her/hers

Mariah is a first-year student in the MS/LIS program from Gainesville, FL. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in English, and fell in love with the novel Shame by Salman Rushdie. In her spare time, she likes to bake, watch anime, play sims and shops on Amazon more than she should.

Our Current Team

I hope that you’ve enjoyed the recent posts about our current team. We’re working up profiles of former members of Team Awesome and we’ll start posting them next week.

What was your favorite part of the profiles already posted?

For me, it was finding out that the team is evenly split between 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck and that only two of the GAs would want a zombie outbreak over an alien invasion. It’s a small glimpse into why we work so well as a team–we each bring different strengths and viewpoints to the group.

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Sophie

Get to Know Team Awesome!

Coming to you from the Team Awesome bunker, a profile of one of our amazing graduate assistants.

In the spotlight today: Sophie

Photo of current GA, Sophie, posing in the woods 

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? I’m from a suburb of Chicago called Plainfield. My favorite part of it is not being there anymore. (Just kidding.) (No I’m not.)
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? I’m in my second semester of the program. When I’m done, I plan to work in a public library, preferably in outreach/community engagement.
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? My favorite part of working here is my great team! Everyone is supportive and delightful. You couldn’t find a cooler group of people to fix your printer.
  4. Favorite meme:

Collection of john Mulaney gifs used to explain Marvel movies

  1. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Goat – I love goats
  2. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? What’s up – 4 non blondes
  3. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Alien invasion in the hopes that they are very stupid aliens
  4. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Always wore pencil through a ponytail
  5. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Horse sized duck – only 1 creature to vanquish – horses have no empathy

 

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Riana

Get to Know Team Awesome!

Coming to you from the Team Awesome bunker, a profile of one of our amazing graduate assistants.

In the spotlight today: Riana

Headshot of Riana, current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? I’m from Marcellus, MI, and my favorite part about it is that it’s less than an hour from Lake Michigan.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? This is my second year in the program, and I hope to work in a public library as a teen services or adult services librarian.
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? I love having such a great team to work with!
  4. Favorite Meme:
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Cat – favorite animal – sleep during the day
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Mr. Brightside – The Killers
  7. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Alien invasion
  8. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Bad barrettes and headbands
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Horse sized duck – fluffy – take out its legs

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Paul

Get to Know Team Awesome!

Coming to you from the Team Awesome bunker, where we’re safe from the rain, a profile of one of our amazing graduate assistants.

In the spotlight today: Paul

Photo of Paul, current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? Holland, Michigan; Lake Michigan frozen in the winter.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? 1st year; public librarian focused on technical services or collection development.
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? When I’m able to puzzle out a solution to a tricky problem.
  4. Favorite meme: a meme about memes
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? House cat – pretty good place to be
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Silent all these years – Tori Amos
  7. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Alien invasion – more possibility for an interesting future after
  8. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Modest hipster tendencies
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Duck sized horses – what is frightening about horses is their size

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Matthew

Get to know Team Awesome!

Coming to you from the Team Awesome bunker, a profile of one of our amazing graduate assistants.

In the spotlight today: Matthew

Photo of Matthew, a current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? I am from the northwest side of Chicago. I have too many things I love about Chicago to have a favorite, so today I’m just going to pick Wolfy’s Hot Dogs located at Peterson and California.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? I am a first year, second semester student and I hope to become a public librarian in the Chicagoland area, focusing on either adult or teen services (though I would have no problem working with the kiddos either)!
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? The team! It is such a pleasure working with such a courteous, professional, and helpful cohort of Help Desk GAs and staff. It is by far the best work environment I have ever had the pleasure of being part of and it makes it very easy to get up in the morning and go to work.
  4. Favorite Meme:

Meme of monkey puppet looking disturbed

  1. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Whale – to be able to live in the ocean – chill life – swimming and eating
  2. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Journey – Don’t Stop Believing
  3. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Alien invasion – rather be killed by impersonal beings rather than someone you might know
  4. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Country/Hunting – flannel and camo – about 2 weeks
  5. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Duck size horses – a large duck seems terrifying – and horses nice