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

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Kiri

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: Kiri

Photo of Kiri, a current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? Chicago! It has some of my favourite people in it. I also love/miss the parks and lake. And food. Ethiopian especially. …And Green Mill, the jazz bar. And everything.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? I am in my last semester! I hope I’m able to work in a public library (if there are jobs… oy…) and would prefer to work with kids or teens. But I’ll take anything public facing in the public sector.
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? I know this is super cheesy, but it’s also accurate: the people. I have the best bosses in the world (not buttering them up, I promise) and I love my coworkers. They are the best group of dorks and I miss their faces.
  4. Favorite meme: Mayor Lightfoot in American Gothic Meme
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? I would be a cat who belonged to me and my partner. They are mad spoiled.
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Space Oddity – I’m a group-only karaoke kind of person.
  7. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Alien invasion – I’m very frightened of zombies. Yes, even whatever movie you’re currently suggesting.
  8. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? When I was a freshman in high school. 6-month long mushroom haircut. Madly in love with a guy named Rob. He’s actually a librarian now, too! Maybe we were meant to be… *”Titanic” theme swells in the background*
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? 100 duck sized horses. Ducks are way scarier than horses.

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Kailey

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: Kailey

Photo of Kailey, a current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? I’m from Goodrich, Michigan, which is a small town about 20 minutes outside of Flint (or an hour north of Detroit. What I say depends on if people still look confused when I say Flint). It’s kind of hard to pick a favorite part as I only recently moved out of there, and I am excited to move on to bigger things, but I would say the quietness. My parents live out in the country, and their neighbors are about a 5-10 minute walk away. When you go outside late at night, there is just complete darkness, and complete silence. It’s very peaceful.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? I’m a first-year student here. When I first got here, I wanted to go into archives and preservation. Now, I want to go into academic librarianship, which would include reference and instruction. I find almost everything interesting, and it would be a great way to hear about all the topics that people are researching and learning about.
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? Definitely the people. Not only do we have a very supportive, fun team, but I love being immersed in the iSchool community, and talking with all of the students, faculty, and staff that you pass by. I definitely feel like everyone knows me, and there have been several situations where I feel like I’m meeting someone for the first time, and they say “you look really familiar, I see you all the time,” and when I say I work at the Help Desk their eyes light up as they remember, and share how helpful we’ve been in the past.
  4. Favorite meme:It's gonna be May meme
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Bird
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Take on Me – no karaoke, but will sing along in the car since I proudly know all the words.
  7. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Alien invasion – zombies could be someone you know
  8. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Avril Lavigne in Middle school
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Duck-sized horses

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Joe

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: Joe

Photo of Joe, a current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? I’m from Manhattan, IL and there is nothing special about it.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? I’m in my second year, final semester in the iSchool program. I hope to have a job at a public library after school!
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? My favorite part about working at the help desk is getting to work with and interact with everyone in the iSchool building on a daily basis.
  4. Favorite Meme: Meme of cartoon Spiderman saying "no, barrel, I insist. After you"
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Pigeon in New York City – Fly around Empire State Building and play in and eat garbage.
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Young Turks – Rod Stewart
  7. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Alien invasion – I don’t want to be eaten by my own species – see something cool before going out with a bang – could bring cool stuff to us
  8. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Really into roller coasters – youtube roller coaster videos – k’nect roller coaster building
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? 100 duck sized horses – just want to see a tiny horses

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Hanh

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: Hanh

Photo of Hanh, a current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? I’m from Vietnam, and my favorite part about it is it has great tropical fruits.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? I am graduating this December. I hope to be a financial analyst, focused on database/ data governance after I leave the iSchool.
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? Getting to know and working with cool people.
  4. Favorite Meme:Meme of cartoon Spiderman clones as days of the week in a circle pointing at each other
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Unicorn – really likes unicorns and they are magic
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Hallelujah
  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? Used to snort when laughing
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Horse sized duck – fewer to fight

Meet the Graduate Assistants-Dana

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: Dana

Photo of Dana, a current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? I am most recently from Minneapolis, Minnesota. My favorite part was that the Twin Cities have some amazing museums and historical sites.
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? I am finishing up my first year right now. After graduation, I hope to work in a public library.
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? I love problem-solving and working at the Help Desk certainly gives me some interesting problems to solve. I also absolutely adore the team atmosphere.
  4. Favorite Meme: Meme of woman in bed with partner watching true crime
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Eagle – be really cool to fly and don’t have to worry about being eaten
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Sweet Caroline – be a fun karaoke song
  7. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Zombie outbreak – easier to survive
  8. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Bright leggings under shorts in middle school
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Horse sized duck – horses are scary

Meet the Graduate Assistants–Corinne

Get to Know Team Awesome!

Coming to you from the Team Awesome bunker, a profile of one of our amazing graduate assistants. While we’re taking our physical distancing very seriously, we thought online, hard-hitting interviews would help us all cope with being apart. Plus, we love to brag about how great these team members are.

In the spotlight today: Corinne

Photo of Corinne, a current GA

  1. Where are you from and what’s your favorite part about it? Charleston, IL. We have the best Taco Bell in central Illinois and that’s about it. Also, my mom lives there 🙂
  2. What year in the program are you/what do you hope to do when you leave the iSchool? This is my last semester. I’m really hoping to get a job!
  3. What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk? I love that when you work at the Help Desk, you’re just granted a whole set of really awesome friends. It can be hard to make friends as an adult but working at the Help Desk makes it easy!
  4. Favorite Meme: Meme of Bernie Sanders as the Phantom of the Opera
  5. If you could live life as an animal, which animal would you choose? Bear – get to roam around and do what they and it’s viewed as adorable hijinks – eat trash swim in people’s pools and people give them a wide berth
  6. What’s your (or would be) your go-to karaoke song? Total Eclipse of the Heart
  7. If there had to be an apocalypse which would you choose-alien invasion or zombie outbreak? Zombie – read a lot of zombie books and seen zombie movies – I feel more adequately prepared
  8. What was your most embarrassing teenage phase? Post emo Half brown/half blue-black hair – too many bow headbands
  9. Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck? Horse-sized duck