Katie Prestley:
Marla you are truly an inspiration to all working/going to school Moms! You should be so proud of yourself and your accomplishments. From working full time and having work obligations away from home to taking care of your family to being such a great friend and lending ear….all while you are pulling those late nights and weekends of class work. Congratulations to you my friend! ❤️
Natalie Starosta:
Congratulations! You are an absolutely amazing person and I couldn't be happier for you! I know that you are and will make a positive impact in everything you do!
Lynn Ethell:
Congratulations Marla!
Lizzy Boden:
So impressed by you Marla!!!!!! You are a total badass. Congratulations, I can't wait to see what you do with this degree.
Lori Lysik:
Marla I am SO proud of you! You are going to do great things.
Marla
Marie
Curran
The degree of
Master of Library and Information Science
Virtual Convocation
2023
PROFILE
Current residence: Crystal Lake, IL, US
I wanted to earn a masters degree because:
I depended on my library before I started working at one. I wanted to get an MLIS because I wanted to support others with the same equitable resources my library gave me such as faxing, low-cost printing, internet usage, a library of things, civics programming, and a safe space for my kids to play for free while I did all that!
While earning my degree, my greatest supporters were:
My greatest supporters were undoubtedly my husband, my children, and my dog. I couldn't have done any of this without their love and support!
While in the program, I met classmates from:
I met classmates from all over! Since SJSU is in California but I'm in Chicago, it was interesting to find classmates also in the central time zone to conduct group projects together so that we could meet on Zoom at appropriate times. It's amazing that people attend (and teach at) SJSU iSchool from all over though-- even internationally!
What I liked best about online learning was:
The convenience. I completed my undergrad in night school because I worked all day and had to pick up my kids from school everyday. Then it was straight to school an hour away for the evening! Completing grad school at the SJSU iSchool gave me the convenience of managing my own class time without relying on transportation. There were still lots of late nights and weekends writing papers and discussion posts, but at least I could still be watching a movie with my family while doing it, or using a hotspot in the car on the weekends while my husband drove.
What I enjoyed most about my experience at the SJSU School of Information was:
My greatest experience at SJSU was volunteering to participate in the JARS (Jail and Reentry Services) reference project in INFO210: Reference and Information Services with Rosanne Macek. Under the supervision of the San Francisco Public Library, the student acted as the librarian for incarcerated adults in the San Francisco county jail system, answering reference questions by mail. Many of these questions were multi-step interactions, spanned multiple pages long, and stretched the skills of the library student since there was no chance for a reference interview. This assignment taught me so much not only about incarcerated adults and the jail system, but the skills and scope of a librarian's job. As a teen librarian now, I hope to eventually participate in a similar program with incarcerated youths.
I plan to use my degree to:
Advocate for universal library service in Illinois! Approximately one million people in Illinois do not have access to public library services, because they do not live in an area that is taxed by a library. These people are referred to as nonresidents and must purchase a library card for access to materials. My goal is to make sure that no child or teenager in school lacks public library access because of this. I want to increase access to libraries for everyone; making the library a safe, celebratory and inviting place to gather, learn, and create.
Now that I have completed the program, I'm most looking forward to:
All the free time I can hopefully find! I'd love to watch more movies and play more board games with my kids, walk my dog more, and hit the gym a few nights a week.
Katie Prestley: Marla you are truly an inspiration to all working/going to school Moms! You should be so proud of yourself and your accomplishments. From working full time and having work obligations away from home to taking care of your family to being such a great friend and lending ear….all while you are pulling those late nights and weekends of class work. Congratulations to you my friend! ❤️
Natalie Starosta: Congratulations! You are an absolutely amazing person and I couldn't be happier for you! I know that you are and will make a positive impact in everything you do!
Lynn Ethell: Congratulations Marla!
Lizzy Boden: So impressed by you Marla!!!!!! You are a total badass. Congratulations, I can't wait to see what you do with this degree.
Lori Lysik: Marla I am SO proud of you! You are going to do great things.