Current Members

As members of the iSchool at Illinois Students of Color, we strive to support one another during our time in graduate school and beyond! Interested in our current members? We would love to hear from you!

Note: Bios are written historically. GSLIS is now the School of Information Sciences at Illinois as of June 2016.

Kate Rojas

Hi, I’m Kate Rojas, a 2nd year master’s student from Philadelphia and a 2013-2014 Spectrum Scholar. I’m planning on graduating in December 2014 but will be staying at GSLIS to begin my Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) next spring. Some of my interests include K-12 school librarianship (my primary focus), community informatics, and youth services. I’m around GSLIS quite often — I work as an Instructional Technology & Design TA and a Help Desk GA. I love technology and try to research video games and other technologies in educational contexts whenever I have free time. After I completely my K-12 program, I aspire to work in a school library as a media specialist or technology specialist; however, I am open to working in other educational settings. I have prior experience in an academic library, a public library, a writing center, and a math center. Someday, I would like to pursue a Ph. D in an education field. Fun stuff? I love anything about Japan, and it’s my dream to travel there. A quote: “Just smile and there’s nothing you can’t overcome” (I like to think of myself as a sweet optimist).

Katrina Spencer

My name’s Katrina Spencer and I am in my second year at GSLIS. I’m from Mid-City, Los Angeles, California. I’m interested in international librarianship, the translation of children’s literature and the uses of government information. Recently I was awarded the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship, a federally funded award, for the study of Brazilian Portuguese. In the future, I’d like to manage a library’s social media presence, with a particular interest in blogging. A fun fact about me? I’m one of four daughters. My hair is springy. I love satire. A quote I like is by Mark Twain: “Don’t let your education get in the way of your learning.” It cautions against allowing formalized institutions and agendas determine the breadth and depth of one’s knowledge. It is advice that I offer as much to anyone else as I do to myself.

Lucero Gonzalez

My name is Lucero Gonzalez but everyone knows me as Lucy. I am a first year Master’s student in GSLIS. I am originally from Peotone, Illinois which is not far from here, but Chicago has my heart. I have recently had the honor of being named a  2014-2015 Spectrum Scholar. I am highly interested in higher education and currently hold an assistantship as a Graduate Advisor at the LAS Access and Achievement Program. I also work as a graduate assistant with the advising staff at GSLIS and soon I will begin to work with the new Amani, Delicia Greene. My interests include looking at  library access/library resources available to people of underrepresented communities, and early childhood literacy and it’s connection to higher education achievement. My future goals are to find a position within an academic library as a reference librarian. I want to be involved in higher education but not in the traditional role as a professor! I am passionate about getting people of color into higher education, and more importantly seeing them graduate. One of my favorite quotes is by C. S. Lewis: “In your life, you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again.” I particularly like this quote because it describes the reality of life and how every experience shapes you in a way whether you realize it or not. As for fun facts, I have a pet horse named Pearl, I have a vinyl record player, and I still have the same public library card from my hometown from when I was five years old!

Berenice Vargas

Hi! My name is Berenice Vargas. I’m from Chicago, specifically Humboldt Park. I’m interested in user experience, competitive intelligence, government data, and information architecture. This is my third semester working at the office of Instructional Technology Design and the GSLIS Help Desk. And this fall I just started an internship with the College of Business at their Illinois Business Consulting office. I volunteer at the Fab Lab, so stop on by and make cool stuff! I love riding my bike, so if anyone is up for doing neighborhood tours, let me know! I’m graduating in May and plan to apply for the Certificate of Advanced Studies. My goal is to work on a project with Prof Twidale (he’s awesome!!). Another goal is to attend at least one or two conferences this year. A fun fact is I’m the oldest of four, and have three younger brothers (that I love dearly). A weird tidbit about me is, I ignore social media. I prefer talking to people face-to-face, or having a chat over phone. A couple of reasons for my aversion is that I created content and updated a handful of social media channels for a small non-profit, it’s like I got an overload. Frankly, I find it to be a time warp. And people share way too much or not enough (roll my eyes when folks post things like “This isn’t happening” or “WTF!”… ain’t nobody got time for that. Sorry, I’m done ranting. BUT I must admit, I’ve been battling with the idea of being more active on social media. I do enjoy that it’s like a news feed and have found some pretty funny stuff on there. One of my favorite quotes is, “Dance like no one is watching”, it clears my head and gives me strength.

Brittany Jones

Greetings! My name is Brittany Jones, and I am a first year master’s student at GSLIS. I’m from Chicago, IL; and even though it’s not that far away, I feel far from home. I am interested in the role of libraries (and non-traditional information centers) in communities, and for that reason will pursue a certificate in Community Informatics during my program. I am also extremely interested in anything having to do with the Black experience in the United States, so I hope to somehow connect that to my studies in LIS as well. My future goal is to work in community, helping individuals access the information that they need to accomplish their goals. As of now, I’m thinking that means I want to work as a librarian in a public library – but I am open to wherever my path leads me. A fun fact about me is that I do not eat cheese. For some reason, that tends to shock people. And lastly, my favorite quote (defined as the one that I repeat to myself most often) is “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” as written by Paul in 2 Timothy 1:7 of the Bible.

Nushrat Khan

Hi! My name is Nushrat Khan. But most people call me by my nickname Brishti. I am a first year Master’s student at GSLIS. My home country is Bangladesh but I spent my last 5 years in Japan which makes it my second home. I was a government (MEXT) scholar there learning Japanese during my first year and spent next 4 years in college. My academic interests are twofold; having my Bachelor’s in Information Science with Information System sub-major, I am interested in understanding better ways of digital content management and repository system. My research interest falls into Health and Educational Informatics where I would like to find better ways to integrate digital technologies with learning and provide health information in more efficient way. I am planning to specialize in Socio-technical Data Analytics and if possible then also in Community Informatics at GSLIS. In future I plan to work in a research library or information center that works with real life user study and help people access information easily and effectively. So, funny fact about me! I laugh a lot and I need sleep more than food or anything else to stay alive! My favorite quote is, “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” by Mark Twain and “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life” by Steve Jobs.