¡Saludos! Greetings!

We are in our last month of spring heading into summer. Students are finishing up final assignments and alumni are working hard on their goals and careers. Remember to take some time to relax, enjoy spring, and celebrate all you have accomplished.

¡Bien hecho! ¡Buen trabajo! Well done! Great job!

Music from Noche de Estudio on Spotify

The music from our April 8th Noche de Estudio (Night of Studying) is now on Spotify for you to enjoy! REFORMA SJSU iSchool board members put together a list of their favorite songs they listen to while studying. During Noche de Estudio, members met over Zoom to study while listening to this playlist and to chat in breakout rooms. Now you can listen to the same music on Spotify!

Noche de Estudio Spotify List

Join our team! Learn about Board positions from current board members:

Position: Marketing and Social Media Liaison

Name: Guadalupe Martinez

Duties: Along with the co-Liaison, I am responsible for maintaining social media accounts and creating graphics with engaging content. I often interact with other organizations, institutions, and REFORMA chapters on social media and find ways to share jobs, internships, etc.

Guadalupe-Martinez-Marketing_Social-Media

Technical and professional skills you gained: I definitely improved my communication skills (keep everything short and sweet!) and developed my design skills using the shared Canva site. This is important for any LIS professionals who will run instruction or programming - marketing is a huge component to turn out and be a resource to your community.

Other things you gained: I love working with the team to come up with new events or content to post. We are all talented, hard-working, and great to work with - I love to highlight this dynamic as much as possible when I create something for social media

Favorite part about being part of REFORMA SJSU: Since becoming a member and joining the board last summer, I have been involved in many internships and LIS work experiences. This role has been the most rewarding, and easiest to communicate in by far. I feel very comfortable expressing myself and asking for help when I need it.

Advice to those hesitating to sign-up for this position: This position is what you make of it. If you are a creative person who loves to spend time on the details, go for it! I have gotten paid positions as a social media coordinator, and now have a growing portfolio to share in future interviews.

Average time spent weekly performing REFORMA SJSU duties: 5hrs/weekly, sometimes more if there are many events or special announcements to go out. Most of this time is spent designing content and interacting on social media accounts.

Average time spent weekly performing duties: 5hrs/weekly, sometimes more if there are many events or special announcements to go out. Most of this time is spent designing content and interacting on social media accounts.

Anything else you'd like people to know: If you’re into data analytics - this position is also for you! You can create your own e-port evidence or resume-building project to analyze our social media engagement, website hits, etc. There are so many opportunities here for professional development!

Position: Blog Editor

Name: Sarah Wilson

Duties: I develop and manage the blog, including seeking new blog posts & reviewing submissions. I am responsible for corresponding, answering questions, and promoting the blog. Upon final review, I upload new blog posts to the website.

Technical and professional skills gained: I was able to work with Wordpress again. I haven’t used it since I took INFO 200. In addition to this tool, I used Google Docs to connect with different people and interview them to generate content for the blog. I was able to practice my writing and editing skills in this position.

Other things gained: It has been very enjoyable to connect with all the other officers at the monthly meetings. The President and I met in-person at the start of my graduate experience and it was wonderful to connect with her again through this organization. I learned that the Vice President lives in my hometown. Our families became fast friends and I am so thankful that this group lent this opportunity. I also have plans to work with both Marketing & Social Media Liaisons at ALA National in Washington D.C this summer. The iSchool and Dean Huard kindly bestowed a travel grant to all three of us so that we can connect with and assist REFORMA National at the conference.

Favorite part about being part of REFORMA SJSU: My favorite part about being a part of this group is the cultural competency I gain by learning more about the REFORMA information community.

Advice to those hesitating to sign-up for this position: I am so thankful that I have now been a part of two iSchool leadership groups - The SRJ and REFORMA SJSU iSchool Student & Alumni Group. Not only have these experiences prepared me for my e-portfolio, they have shaped what pathway I took with classes, and gave me a network of people I can turn to should I need advice or guidance in my future career. I also love that I can continue to be a member of this group post-graduation as an alumni along with finding opportunities to connect with my local chapter.

Average time spent performing duties: 2-3 hours. Sometimes more time is required and sometimes less depending on the week. The time commitment has been very flexible.

Anything else you'd like people to know: I was very excited to connect SPAN 132 instructor Aurelio Días Ferreira and his students to our group and visa versa over the last two semesters. I took SPAN 132, a beginning Spanish course, in 2020 with other iSchool students through SJSU´s World Languages Department. I have been able to continue my goal of learning and practicing Spanish and I am so grateful to Aurelio Días Ferreira for his willingness to share his knowledge and expertise in our Mini cafecito series. These sessions have allowed his students to interact and practice their newly formed skills with other fluent speakers and have created awareness about REFORMA.

Position: Membership Coordinator

Name: Stephanie Duran

Duties:

Handle questions and information requests regarding current or future membership as well as assist with inquiries that pertain to joining the REFORMA SJSU iSchool Student and Alumni Group Executive Board.
Process membership applications in a timely manner to support group member benefits.
Maintain and update over 100 membership records to ensure the dissemination of information regarding upcoming events, scholarship deadlines, newsletters, and continuing education.
Assist with outreach efforts to attract potential members to run for officer positions

Technical and professional skills you gained: How to use google forms, the beauty of collaboration and independent work, managing membership information

Other things gained: Networking, outreach

Favorite part about being part of REFORMA SJSU: Being part of something greater that is committed to supporting others

Advice to those hesitating to sign-up for this position: Don't hesitate, do it, and do it now.

Average time spent weekly performing duties: This really depends on whether its election time, if people are joining SJSU REFORMA Group, and if the group officers are sending documents for the other members to look at, to gain feedback, to get something replied to, answering questions, replying to interview questions, emails, attending meetings, researching things, collaborating with other group members for events or other things. It can be something like an hour a week to 15 hours a week it just really depends on what's going on with the group that week or if more members are joining the group, or if you have been tasked to help out with something significant to your position.

Anything else you'd like people to know: It can be a great way to meet like minded folks and something more too add to your resume

Position: Alumni Liaison

Name: Gretchen McLaughlin

Duties: Establish and maintain relationships between Group and iSchool Alumni; assist with programming that benefits students and alumni; and recruit alumni.

Technical and professional gained: vision creation; goal setting; time management; collaboration; communication;

Other things gained: Serving REFORMA SJSU has connected me to those who share my beliefs about library services for all community members, especially our Spanish speaking patrons.

Favorite part about being part of REFORMA SJSU: Our group is forward thinking, supported by the amazing Dr. Villagran, and recognized by Faculty as one that significantly contributes to the library world.

Advice to those hesitating to sign-up for this position: We need you and your connections to support student endeavors. Like me, you do not need to be a fluent Spanish speaker, but rather an ally who can enrich the entire student group and be a leader within the Executive Board.

Average time spent weekly performing duties: 1 hour, max.

Anything else you'd like people to know: It is a pleasure to work with dedicated students and I look forward to being involved as the group grows and changes.

Check Out Our Latest Blog!

Preserving Culture in D.C.: A Closer Look into the Library World

As one of the three REFORMA SJSU members to attend ALAAC22, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share what I learned, experienced, and the impact it has had on my current work.

REFORMA in the Nation’s Capital

What events does REFORMA National do at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference? Read on to find out what I learned as a first-time attendee.