Hello fellow nerds, protectors of intellectual freedom, book lovers, and information enthusiasts!
My name is Melissa, and I live in Sherman Oaks, California! This is my third semester in SJSU’s MLIS program and I am ready to hit the ground running with 16 units (yes, I know, I’m insane) while working full-time and co-parenting!
Prior to my time in this program, I studied musical theater and international studies at UC Irvine during undergrad and worked professionally as an actor, primarily doing contracts at the Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. Like so many others, the pandemic turned my work and personal life upside down as all of my work disappeared, and I spent two years at home with young children.
When I’m not hiking, trying to keep my plants alive, thrifting, or consuming every ambient post-rock album I can find, I work in marketing at a CPG company. In addition to two human children, I have two wonderful cats named Poppy and Marigold.
I have always felt a deep connection to libraries. Whatever period I’ve been at in my life, whether the first years of readership in elementary school, the horrors of middle school (see the photo below in front of my favorite place on the last day of eighth grade), overwhelming AP-drenched high school years, college, or more recently, taking my children to enjoy local library services, the library has always been a part of my life. I am endlessly grateful that this program is designed the way it is, as I could only pursue this with an asynchronous design. I’ve chosen to take this course because current and emerging tech is not my strongest suit–yet!
Other course recs from me: Last semester, I took INFO 210: Reference and Information Services with Professor Hutchinson and participated as a student assistant with SFPL’s Jail and Reentry Services (JARS) Program. As someone with no prior professional library experience, this was especially gratifying, and I recommend it to everyone! My strongest recommendation is enrolling in INFO 234: Intellectual Freedom Seminar with Professor Gardner. This course is invaluable, particularly during this time of great threat to intellectual freedom and the rise of censorship and materials challenges.
Let me know if you live in Southern California and have favorite hiking trails! I’m on Bluesky, Storygraph, Spotify, and Instagram (for now) as @literaryplayground.
Apologies for the low-quality Canva image that I spent way too much time creating for it to be this blurry. If anyone has any tips on how to post a higher-quality file that doesn’t bog down WordPress, I’d love your help!
