SJSU iSchool Virtual Convocation

GRADUATE PROFILE BACK TO GRADUATE PROFILES

Catherine A Liebau-Nelsen

CONNECTIONS

GUEST BOOK

Donna Liebau: I’m so happy for you, and proud of your accomplishments...and I love you!

Katherine Olvera: I’m so proud of you Catie..You’ve come along way baby!!! Congrats!!

Mrs Hood: I am beyound proud of you. Congrats on this great honor

Sandy Hebert: What an accomplishment! Congratulations on your hard work and dedication, and best of luck wherever your career takes you!

Alyssa Key: Congratulations, Catherine! I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for you! You've worked so hard to get to this point and I can't wait to see you achieve your goals! Cheers to no more homework! :)

Scott Liebau: Katie, I am so very proud of you. You have accomplished so much and deserve the very best. My love and my best, Uncle Scott

Barbara Liebau : Sweet Katie,Congratulations on your graduation and best wishes for your next adventure!

Kathy Wolfe : Catie, Congratulations. What an achievement! I know is your Mom is so proud. The sky is the limit for you. Knock em’ dead. Love from Kathy

Smoochy Magoo: You're an inspiration!

Debbie Faires: Congratulations, Catherine! You've done outstanding work and I wish you happiness and success going forward.

Dr V: Congratulations Catherine!!

Catherine A Liebau-Nelsen

The degree of

Master of Library and Information Science

Virtual Convocation
2021

PROFILE

Current residence: Dinuba, CA, US

I wanted to earn a masters degree because:

Honestly, I wasn't done learning. I've been a student since I was 5 years old, and to step away from that role was too scary to accept. That's a horrible reason to enter into student debt, but it's the best I can offer. Even though it's stressful, I love learning in the traditional sense - through school. When I discovered the School of Information, I knew that I had to at least apply! Librarianship was never a career that I'd considered for myself until I was almost finished with my undergraduate.

While earning my degree, my greatest supporters were:

My husband who tirelessly listened to me complain and cry about coursework for almost three years straight (Zachary Nelsen), my parents who offered me peace of mind and emotional support (Donna and Craig Liebau), my best friends who were never upset about my busy schedule or lack of time (Taylor Belloli and Aleigh Lozinak), my mother-in-law who also let me complain about school without judgement (Tammy Nelsen), the best colleague I could ever ask for (Sarah Wilson from the Student Research Journal), and the faculty who offered me learning opportunities and experiences beyond what I'd hoped for at the iSchool (Dr. Anthony Bernier, Professor Debbie Faires, and Dr. Linda Main) were my greatest source of support - even if they don't all know how much their encouraging words and time have meant to me.

While in the program, I met classmates from:

I had the opportunity to meet and work with students from all over the United States and Canada. The majority of the students whom I formed connections with, though, are from California.

What I liked best about online learning was:

If this hadn't been an online program, I wouldn't have had the opportunity (or courage, for that matter) to try for my masters degree. The fact that I was able to connect with people from all of the world (many of whom I had to chance to work with because of the Student Research Journal) is mind-blowing!

What I enjoyed most about my experience at the SJSU School of Information was:

Working as the Editor-in-Chief of the Student Research Journal was the highlight of my experience at the SJSU School of Information. Building professional relationships with my colleague (Sarah Wilson, Managing Editor) and faculty advisor (Dr. Anthony Bernier) pushed me outside of my comfort zone. For anyone who knows me well, speaking in meetings is not something that I enjoy. Having weekly meetings with Sarah, bimonthly meetings with Dr. Bernier, and monthly meetings for the entire Editorial Team challenged me to develop my verbal communication skills beyond what I had ever hoped for. Representing the Student Research Journal in meetings with faculty, other student leaders, and large numbers of students in general and providing updates on the Journal's progress without fumbling over my words is probably what I'm most proud of. Yes, the MLIS will look great on my wall, but I'm still shocked at how much I've grown because of my role as the head of the school's only fully student-run, double blind, peer-reviewed journal.

I plan to use my degree to:

While I'm happy with my current position as a library technician at the junior high that I had attended back when I was in school, I would like to one day work in an academic library. The dream would be to work at Fresno State's Henry Madden Library - the place where I got over my ridiculous aversion to libraries. (They have a Starbucks on the second floor. There's no beating that!)

Now that I have completed the program, I'm most looking forward to:

I'm most looking forward to reading again. I feel like I've been reading non-stop the last three years, but that doesn't count. I can't wait to sit down on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and one of the hundreds of books that I have been dying to read. Also, I'm looking forward to not telling people, "I can't because I have homework/meetings." Disappointing others and not being able to split my time how I would most like to has been difficult, and it's something that I've always had to do. For once in my life, I won't have homework and I won't have meetings. Yes, I've loved being a student, but I'm finally ready to not be one anymore. I guess when I think about it, what I'm most looking forward to is not being a student now that I'm happy with where I am in life - in my career, education, and relationships. It's ironic considering the reason that I originally applied for the program was so that I would still be a student!