Fatoma Rad, Collection Development Librarian, has chosen a group of exceptional Library Student Employees who deserve to be highlighted for their fabulous contributions to Greenley Library. "Although all Library Student Employees are great and play their part in making the library what it is, there are a few that stand out who I think should be given their flowers and a moment to shine," - Fatoma Rad.
We encourage you to take a few moments to read about the selected students, they are sure to put a smile on your face!
Olivia Butler - Since joining the library, Olivia has played a large part in all different areas of the library. She even worked here last summer and her presence was known and commented on by our conference attendees. From shelving to reading to the children for our campus daycare, Olivia has done it all. Because of this, she has a great level of internal knowledge and I can rely on her to train new Student Employees. She has great leadership skills and she is our go to book processor - those labels you see on our newly added books- chances are Olivia was one of the students who put that there or trained the individual who did.
Kenia Sanchez, Erica Lazo, Christian Palazzo - Kenia has been my go to for some of my special projects, specifically, translating resources into Spanish. Kenia started this project with me last summer and she is now more or less the supervisor for this project. She now works with Erica Lazo and Christian Palazzo to continue to make changes for this project that has now grown. Kenia oversees the translating for the resources. They have a goal to create at least two more videos by the end of this summer to be ready for the upcoming Fall semester. Additionally, Christian is one of my students who is always ready to help with tasks as well as knowing how to organize his fellow Student Employees to get their tasks and projects done in a timely manner. If I am out of the office for any reason, or if I am stuck in meetings, I know that whatever tasks that need to get done, they will be addressed by him.
Milan Gayle - Its hard to believe that Milan started working here for such a short time, but in his short time here he has taken on the responsibility of helping me manage The Black Experience: Resources for FSC. Milan, finds books in collection, as well as the new books that are added, that fit into this collection. In Summer 2020, this collection was started by FSC student Darrien Hunt, who is now an Alum. The goal of this collection was to make sure Black voices, stories, and research is highlighted in our library and easy to find. This is an ongoing collection and to make these books visible, we label them with a red sticker on the spine making these books stand out in our collection. This project and collection is incredibly important to me and I am glad that I now have someone who I can trust to help me maintain it and build it. Milan has been the one who has been overseeing this collection with me since November 2022.
Heraclio Wyatt - Heraclio started late last semester, but his presence is known by majority in the library. His kindness and readiness to help is something that is incredibly appreciated! Heraclio has been working on the monthly book displays with me - these displays are important to me as they are a way to communicate to the students that the library is here to celebrate all voices and identities. Heraclio takes his time to meticulously organizing the displays and he played a large role in ensuring the Phenomenal Women Banquet designs were possible with all the titles he helped find in the collection. If I forget a task or remember something that needs to get done, after a quick message to Heraqclio, I know that it will be done!
CJ Ehrlich - Cj is another individual that anyone in the library can turn to. Cj has helped me with displays and resources relating to the LGBTQ community, his openness to teach others and share his lived experience is something that everyone in the library and the campus benefits from. Cj also helps manage our Poster Printing room, in fact, he played an incredibly large role in ensuring the majority of the printers were ready for the inaugural IGNITE Symposium that took place this past year!
These are just seven students from my roster of 32 amazing individuals. Working with these students is an honor, and the work they put in to help the library function is something that I am not only thankful for, but I am humbled to be able to work with them. These students are also amazing inside the classroom and have been recipients of campus life awards, scholarships and selected for a special SUNY wide training etc....
--Fatoma Rad, MS LIS, MA HEA