E-Portfolio – SJSU SAASC

Calling Future Archival Leaders!

by SAASC Team

Why join student chapters of professional associations for information professionals? For one thing, student organizations are a great way to connect with peers from all across the country. Distance education can be, well, lonely, and we all should be aware of how important it is to start networking early in your career, so having the chance to build relationships among peers and future colleagues is invaluable during the time that you are a student. Alongside the wonderful social bonding and professional networking student organizations provide, student organizations offer many opportunities to develop and demonstrate leadership skills that will help you later on in the job market and to further explore areas of your field that you feel most passionate about. San Jose State’s Society of American Archivists Student Chapter (SAASC) offers many opportunities for personal and professional growth. SAASC Executive Board members coordinate all kinds of on-site tours and virtual events with professionals in the field, communicate with members through various social media channels, organize and host regular meetings, and contribute to the production of Archeota, our chapter’s semiannual publication written by and for information students interested in archival studies.

Kelli Roisman, 2019-2020 SAASC Chair, describes the benefits of taking on leadership roles through student organizations in this way: “I joined the SAASC team because I wanted to make personal connections with other iSchool students who share similar interests. I enjoy reaching out to professionals in the field to create new programming for our membership. There are so many benefits, but I’ll pick just one! Student leadership is a great opportunity for career growth. Employers are looking for ‘demonstrated experience’ in addition to coursework. You can build up your skills and boost your qualifications by taking on a leadership role in student organizations.”

Students seeking to build up leadership and communication skills in a friendly and collegial environment should consider running for an executive board position. We’re now accepting nominations for our 2020-2021 SAASC Executive Board. Our new leadership team will be key to organizing chapter activities including site tours to Blizzard Entertainment and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Open positions: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Events Coordinator, Social Media Coordinator. Nominations will be accepted up to May 2. Send a brief bio to sjsusaasc@gmail.com. We’d love to have you join us. Please help us achieve our chapter’s goals for energizing our membership, creating new opportunities, and fostering career development! For more details, visit our website http://sjsusaasc.weebly.com/. Send us a message if you have any questions; we can be reached at sjsusaasc@gmail.com.

Leaders Wanted: An iSchool Student Organization Collaborative Event

by SAASC Team

SAASC’s 2019-202 Executive Committee elections are coming soon. Have you thought about running for a position with SAASC or another iSchool student group? Not sure what you would be getting into? What are the benefits? But what if you’re on the East Coast? And what if you’re an introvert?

Leaders from iSchool’s student organizations came together for a special collaborative event to talk about what their experience has been like, what benefits they’ve enjoyed most, and how they’ve managed to fit this important work into their busy lives. Before the event, current and former officers participated in an informal survey to answer questions like, “How much time per week do you spend on student organization work?”

The survey revealed some interesting things. For instance, most participants emphasized a few important benefits to participating in student groups. The experience translates directly to your resume/CV, and your experience can provide great talking points for interviews. A few student leaders shared during the event how they were able to use certain experiences for e-Portfolio competencies. Survey participants also pointed out the importance of getting involved in professional associations for career development, and many leaders found that their student chapter experience helped them understand and access these professional organization benefits more fully. Some students were able to receive financial help to attend professional conferences, as well. Above all, student leaders pointed to the very valuable networking opportunities that student association work provides.

The event’s participants also had some insights into some of the challenges that come with student leadership. They stressed the need for developing time management skills and a team mentality. Also, although many students self-identify as introverts, most of them claim that their experience in student groups helped them gain confidence in their ability to manage their tendencies toward introversion and shyness, both now as students and also in their future professional life.

Furthermore, the event participants stressed that the various “challenges” such as lack of experience and introversion, should not prevent students from getting involved. Indeed, student groups provide the perfect environment to learn, to gain experience, and to grow into your professional life.

A full recording of the event is available at on our Past Events page, and also on our YouTube channel. Check it out.

For more information, get in touch with your student organizations directly:

SAASC: sjsusaasc@gmail.com
FirstGeneration: firstgen.sjsu@gmail.com
ASIS&T: sjsuasist@gmail.com
ALASC: sjsualasc@gmail.com
SLASC: sjsu.slasc@gmail.com

And keep an eye open for upcoming information about nominations and elections!

Contribute to Archeota

by SAASC Team

Are you interested in writing? Would you like to add publication to your resumé? Archeota is looking for original articles to publish in our upcoming issue. We invite you to send us your ideas.

If you’re interested in submitting something, but need some suggestions for what you could write, here are some ideas to get you inspired:

Summary or opinion pieces on recent archives stories in the news
Reflections or advice pieces based on first-hand experience, including jobs, internships or volunteer work
Interviews with practicing archivists
A review of archives-related media, such as a podcast, blog, book or article
A report about an SAASC event you attended recently
Profiles of archives you’ve worked at, visited, or just dream of visiting
Reflections on life as an iSchool student
A report about a recent conference you’ve attended
Archives-related artwork (photographs/comics/poetry)
Archives-themed puzzles

Or find inspiration in any of our previous issues, archived on our website, at: http://sjsusaasc.weebly.com/archeota.html.

Submission deadline: Friday, November 16, 2016 @ 11:59 pm PST

Submit your idea or article to: sjsusaasc@gmail.com

Category: <span>E-Portfolio</span>

Calling Future Archival Leaders!

Leaders Wanted: An iSchool Student Organization Collaborative Event

Contribute to Archeota

Please note, you DO NOT need to be a member of SAA to contribute to Archeota.

Become a SAASC member today!