This month we are losing two founding members of the REFORMA SJSU iSchool Student and Alumni group. Rosa Rodriguez and Sophia LaMonica were the group’s founding President and Secretary. Both will be stepping down from their positions along with Stephanie Duran, who was the group’s Membership Coordinator. Before the next chapter of their LIS journey begins, we chatted with these three about their experience as officers.
What’s next for each of you?
Rosa – I am currently the Outreach Coordinator at CSU San Marcos and I will continue working at the University Library. I would like to take my time to look for an Outreach Librarian position within the CSU campuses or a public library. Working with Spanish-speaking, Latinx, first generation, BIPOC, and underrepresented students and communities is important to me, and I hope that I can continue to serve library users by creating programs, events, and activities that are inclusive, culturally relevant, and represent the community. At the same time, I also use these opportunities to inform students of how libraries can support them. I will continue to be an active member of REFORMA and LIBROS, the San Diego Chapter.
Sophia – I’m working with the California Resources Archive (CARA) at UC Merced Library to promote access to its digitized historical materials. My job gives me an opportunity to use and build upon many of the skills I obtained through the MLIS program. Since graduating, I’ve been diving deeper into visual curation, digital archives and scholarly research, particularly into the ways metadata has the potential to increase equity, diversity, and inclusiveness (EDI) in libraries and archives.
Stephanie – After graduating from SJSU with my MLIS degree I hope to become a librarian in either a public or academic library. While I wait to obtain my dream job, I will keep interning for the Library Congress as a Law Library Metadata Intern, and continue to work as a Library Tech Support IV for Mt. San Antonio College. I will be continuing my membership with Los Angeles REFORMA.
Can you tell us a little bit about the inception of this group? How did you hear about it? What really got you excited about being a part of it? Were you already a member of REFORMA?
Rosa – I was already a REFORMA member. I read the announcement through the REFORMA National listserv of the group’s formation and the call for board members. I didn’t automatically nominate myself. I saw the email a few more times and finally got the nerve to nominate myself for president. I wanted to be more involved, be a part of building a group, and I wanted to leave my footprint at the SJSU iSchool. I imagined bringing students together and creating a virtual space where we could support one another and learn how we could serve our Spanish-speaking and Latinx communities once we began our careers as librarians. Although I knew it was going to be a lot of work and that I would need to dedicate a lot of time to building the group, I didn’t do it alone. It was exciting to have a great board that was as enthusiastic as I was to see this group take shape. Dr. Villagran was very supportive and has been a great faculty advisor. She is a wonderful role model and mentor.
Sophia – I had heard of REFORMA but didn’t become a member until I learned about the formation of the REFORMA SJSU iSchool Student & Alumni Group through an email. I was looking for ways to get involved, and I was excited by the prospect of stepping into a leadership position, so I nominated myself for Secretary.
Stephanie – I heard about this group by actually looking for a REFORMA group at our school. I had to do a little digging if you will. I didn’t have any social media back then so it was a little harder than it would be if I was on all the social media platforms. I was already a member of REFORMA and I just really wanted to join my school group especially when positions to run for office came up. I was like, Yes, me! I want to join! Me! Me! Pick me!
How has the group changed since you started as officers?
Rosa – The group membership has continued to develop, and our board has also grown. We have built a signature series program with our “Cafecito con…” program that occurs as a monthly virtual event. This series has brought great speakers, hosted our annual “Cafecito con your Ancestors,” and brought alumni back to share their experiences with us. It has become our signature event bringing librarians and library professionals to speak about their experience serving the Spanish-speaking and Latinx communities. Our “Cafecito Con …” series also serves as a model for other chapters and groups. We also created social media campaigns that link us to our members and followers. By staying connected we have increased our LIS audience. We celebrated 100 members and 300 followers on Instagram this month.
Sophia – Since we formed the group, it has grown from just a handful of members including those of us on the Executive Committee, to about 100 members. We got organized and managed to develop our operating framework and thanks to the many talents of the Webmasters, got a website up and running rather quickly. So with that in place, the group is able to focus on hosting more virtual events, publishing blog posts, and participating in REFORMA local chapter events. We’ve also added more positions to the leadership team to better serve our current members and support the group as it grows.
Stephanie, tell us a little bit about the membership. How many are current ischool students? How many are alumni?
Stephanie – Basically once you join a local chapter–like for instance if you join Orange County REFORMA or Los Angeles REFORMA and pay your $10 to join–then you just go to the link to join the SJSU REFORMA Group. Our website has a page that will guide you on how to join: https://ischoolgroups.sjsu.edu/reforma/?page_id=2
I want to say that there’s about less than 20 alumni and about 76 current students but don’t quote me on that because we have yet to update our list.
What is your local REFORMA chapter?
Rosa – LIBROS San Diego & Imperial County
Sophia – Los Angeles
Stephanie – Los Angeles
How have/or plan to be active with your local chapter?
Rosa – I have attended events, joined a meeting when my schedule allowed, and I have engaged with them via their social media Instagram account.
Sophia – I do plan to be active with my local chapter by staying connected on social media, and participating in events whenever possible.
Stephanie – Unfortunately, my schedule right now doesn’t allow me to be very active in my chapter. If my work schedule changes I may try to reach out to my local chapter and see how I can be of service.
Share with us a moment, favorite story, and/or event you experienced while serving as an officer:
Rosa – There are so many it is hard to choose from all the amazing moments. Joining the other student organizations to share with the iSchool director what our group was planning for the semester (fall 2020) was a great experience. The first year I attended, the director made me realize how much work we had accomplished in a matter of a few months, and I recall thinking that we were building a group that was creating an impact, though we were just getting started. Most of all, introducing our “Cafecito con…” series that I created will be one of the best moments of being a part of this group.
Sophia – I’ll never forget the first “Cafecito con your Ancestors” virtual event for Día de los Muertos. So many moving stories were shared, along with photographs and momentos, and it was a heart-warming, enlightening experience. I’m grateful to have been a part of it– definitely a highlight among many during my time as a part of this group.
Stephanie – I remember attending an event with another officer member not too long ago, I was so nervous even though my part only involved introducing the group. My other team member was so awesome, warm, and thoughtful; it calmed my jitters. Basically, she is plain terrific, and made the experience much less nerve-wracking. Rosa H. Thank you!
What would you say to anyone interested in becoming an officer for REFORMA SJSU ischool’s Student and Alumni group?
Rosa – I encourage anyone wanting to be involved to nominate themselves. A leader is a learned role that develops overtime. Being a part of the board has opened opportunities to take on different types of leadership roles. I have worked with other student groups to help facilitate events, moderated small to large scale events, and represented our group many times on various occasions. The options are endless, the key thing to remember is that you will bring your own ideas, skills, and leadership. What is essential is that you work together as a group, share ideas, support one another, and know that you are helping future librarians interested in working with Spanish-speaking and Latinx communities.
Sophia – Nominate yourself! It’s really a great way to jump into a leadership role. You don’t need to be bilingual to be an officer, and it’s an excellent way to build evidence of Competency M for your e-portfolio.
Stephanie – I would say, go for it! Don’t hesitate. The last thing you want is to go through your MLIS program without trying to do something memorable. Joining the board of officers at REFORMA SJSU or any other school group allows you to connect with others. You can build a network of people to rely on in your future career. Si se puede!
One of the unique things about our group is that we are the only student organization that involves alumni. Though you are stepping down as officers and plan to or have graduated, do you intend to stay active with the group as alumni?
Rosa – It’s hard to say goodbye to a group where I served as its first president and was a founding member. Seeing the group take shape and continue to build has been a wonderful experience. I plan to join as an alum and support the group as much as I can.
Sophia – Yes, I do plan to stay active with the group as an alum through staying in touch with my fellow REFORMA SJSU iSchool Student & Alumni group members, as well as looking into ways to get involved with my local chapter in Los Angeles.
Stephanie – If given the opportunity, I would definitely stay active with the group as an alumni member. This experience has been unlike any other and I would love to keep in touch with all my fellow members. Absolutely!
What do you envision for the future for this group?
Rosa – I see this group as being an inspiration for other campuses to start a student group. I can envision it continuing its path to creating other opportunities that bring together students, alumni, and other REFORMA members to engage and collaborate with members. Working together this group can impact their respective communities by developing skill-sets outside the LIS classroom. I imagine the membership growing, the executive board expanding, and having more alumni involved with the student group. Most of all I envision the positive impact that the group will make within the iSchool with students wanting to work with Spanish-speaking and Latinx communities.
Sophia – I envision the group continuing on its upward trajectory, attracting more MLIS students at the iSchool and bringing more attention to the library & information services needs of Spanish-speaking communities. I see the “Cafecito con…” series expanding, creating the space for hosting guest speakers and attracting new members.
Stephanie – I hope that SJSU REFORMA reaches at least 1000 members, why not, because we are for change and you don’t need to be part of the Latino community to join, you just need to be part of the larger community that wants to promote library & information services to Latinos and Spanish speakers.
Thank you all for your contributions, insights, and reflections. Your voices have benefitted REFORMA.
