{"id":3023,"date":"2014-10-09T19:23:19","date_gmt":"2014-10-10T02:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ischoolgroups.sjsu.edu\/asistsc\/?p=3023"},"modified":"2018-03-21T18:52:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T01:52:30","slug":"reflectionchapterchair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ischoolgroups.sjsu.edu\/asistsc\/reflectionchapterchair\/","title":{"rendered":"What Active Membership Taught Me: A Reflection from a Former Student Chapter Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by:\u00a0 Suzanne Rogers Gruber<\/p>\n

There are many things I could tell you about ASIS&T membership being good for your studies or your career, but you can already find them in the Prezi on the front page of this website that I made with the help of the Executive Committee<\/a>. It\u2019s quite likely that you\u2019ve already heard the list, from instructors, other students, or coworkers.<\/p>\n

Instead of re-hashing old themes, I\u2019m going to tell you what I learned from my time in SJSU ASIS&T.<\/p>\n

When I started at the School of Information (then known as SLIS), I knew that I was at least as interested in information science and technology as I was in libraries. I also knew that the job market in my area was tight and that I wasn\u2019t going to relocate for a new position. ASIS&T<\/a> seemed to be the organization that had the most to offer me, in terms of potential for my own professional development.<\/p>\n

I started by attending online events and meetings, getting a feel for the student chapter and the range of interests. My favorite event was the end-of-semester pre-registration social hour, where students shared their recommendations and experiences with each other as we planned our courses of study. At the end of my first year, I ran for Programming Director and joined the Executive Committee. A semester after that, I became Chair.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the fun really started.<\/p>\n

I was afraid of becoming Chair. It was enough to be Programming Director. I am an introvert<\/em>. I like to work alone. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and that I was going to make a fool of myself in front of the entire universe. For my very first Executive Committee business meeting as Chair, with our chapter\u2019s faculty adviser and director of our school attending, I was recovering from oral surgery. I could barely speak. I was so nervous I had to take my mic off when I wasn\u2019t talking so that it wouldn\u2019t pick up the rattle from my hands shaking.<\/p>\n

I was convinced the rest of the committee was going to say that this had all been a terrible mistake and would I please get lost.<\/p>\n

And then\u2026 it went really well. We discussed, we planned, and we got all of our little organizational ducklings in a row and going in the right (same) direction.<\/p>\n

We had a fantastic year, cleaning up and documenting our processes and procedures, running great events both by ourselves and with other student groups. We reached out for and incorporated our members\u2019 feedback at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

During my year on the SJSU ASIS&T Executive Committee, I learned how to:<\/p>\n