Rebecca Billings is a second year MILS student from the Bay Area. She has a B.A. in Foreign Language (French) from Seattle University after taking every class that appealed to her. She recently retired from a career working in open source software. She is pursuing a dream of getting a MILS with a focus on archiving. She has a passion for preserving history of marginalized groups. When not interning she spends time volunteering for LGBTIQIA+ groups, reading, traveling, and hanging out with her partner & 3 cats.

Erin Hickey began her MLIS studies at SJSU in Spring 2025. She earned her BA in 2017 from Simmons College in English and Psychology. After which, working as a lab technician, she completed two online programs in Digital Media Production and Video Editing. These programs encouraged her interest in film production and history. Currently working as an administrative assistant, Erin has made the decision to go back to school to earn her MLIS with an emphasis in archival studies. Her goal is to gain experience in film preservation through internships. Outside of work and class, Erin enjoys reading fantasy and horror, spending time with her cat, and exploring new board games.

Vanessa started the MLIS program in Spring 2024. She resides in Davis, Calif., and is originally from Lynwood, Calif., in Los Angeles County. She holds a B.A. in English and History, with a minor in Chicana/o Studies, from UC Davis. She is passionate about the intersections of literature and history and how these two fields inform each other. In particular, she loves demonstrating how literature and art give a voice to historically marginalized people. She has worked in the Archives and Special Collections department at UC Davis, primarily providing reference services, which has given her opportunities to combine her passions for literature, art, and history with archival work. She currently works in the archival processing unit, where some of this work continues. She has experience writing for the UC Davis blog with the primary purpose of providing outreach for archival materials. When she is not working or studying, she enjoys reading, playing video games, or watching shows with her partner, guinea pig (Henry), and bunny (Mary Shelley).

Esther Ramirez is an archivist and paper artist living in Northern New Mexico. Esther aims to complete her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree at SJSU, with a focus on archives and digital collections, by 2026. When she is not working or studying, she enjoys taking long walks in nature, hiking, and planning outdoor activities, such as growing vegetables like squash, corn, and beans, basketry workshops, and birdwatching. Some of her other favorite activities include puzzling and attending live music events. Esther holds a Master’s degree in Museum Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, her hometown, as well as a Museum Studies Certificate from Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies and the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Gwendolyn is a second year MLIS student. She was born in Tennessee and moved to San Jose, California when she was ten years old, where she has lived ever since. She graduated with a B.A. in History from the University of California, Davis in 2022 knowing that she wanted to pursue library and information science for her master’s degree. Gwendolyn has a lifelong love of history and cultural anthropology, along with a passion for education, and has always dreamed of working with institutions that bring all of these things together, such as archives, museums, and libraries. She has a special interest in preservation and digitization, to keep historical artifacts and knowledge alive for future generations, and to help block the wave of lost media spawned by the age of the internet. While her dream job would be either to work with historical artifacts in a museum or to work in digital archives, she knows that proper organization is important everywhere. Outside of library and information science, Gwendolyn loves to do embroidery and other crafts, play video games, read novels, and continue studying history.