This summer sees the return of our popular Creative Digital Publications Program! We are fortunate to have 65 students in the program this year, which includes nearly daily webinars about the writing process, librarianship, legal research, career paths, legal and accessibility issues, and the Library of Congress. Special thanks to our colleagues in the Internships and Fellowships Program and the Legal Research Institute for offering many of these webinars.
We are grateful to have 16 interns returning for another semester. Six of those are serving as mentors to our six groups. Two groups will be featured today.
Returning this year as a mentor is Casey Mazzoli. Casey is a librarian at Otterbein University, where she specializes in reference services. She formerly worked in public libraries and has an M.L.I.S. from Kent State University. Casey is the author of Historic Thefts: The Mona Lisa and Legal Quests for Repatriation and we are grateful she has returned this summer as a mentor!
Sophia Isaacson is a Philadelphia native working towards a B.A. in international relations with a focus on East Asian studies. She is currently in Japan, completing a joint-degree program between American University in Washington, D.C., and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. Sophia always enjoys a challenge and hopes her passion for digital literacy and information sharing can flourish into something that benefits people around the world.
Joshua Kennedy was born and raised in Ohio. In August 2023, he will graduate with a B.A. in political science and a minor in general business from Miami University, a liberal arts college in Oxford, Ohio. During his time at Miami University, he was passionately involved inside and outside the classroom, such as president of a volunteering club and senator in the student government. When Joshua is not reading various books, from political memoirs to classic literature, he enjoys snowboarding, rooting for the Cleveland sports teams, and spending time with friends and family.
Princess Zuri McCann is a Connecticut native who holds an M.F.A. in creative writing and a B.A. in English from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). She is currently in the M.L.I.S. program at SCSU, from which she will graduate this summer. She works as a special collections assistant at a public library and a student worker in the special collections and archives library department at SCSU. Some of her professional interests include the archives and publications of historically underrepresented groups, accessibility, and literacy. She enjoys reading, writing, and mysteries.
Peyton McVeigh is a junior at Indiana University and is pursuing a major in law and public policy with a minor in philosophy. Currently interning remotely from Hoosier State, she is enthusiastic about enhancing her legal knowledge by delving into the extensive collections of the Law Library of Congress. She holds a particular interest in animal law and its relation to the First and Fourteenth Amendments. She is eager to immerse herself in Washington, D.C., and utilize her newfound research and writing skills in the coming spring. Beyond academics, she enjoys morning runs, blueberry smoothies, and adding to her ever-growing bucket list!
Taryn Mirabello holds an M.L.I.S. from Valdosta State University, an M.F.A. in writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a B.A. in English humanities from Shawnee State University. She currently serves as a branch supervisor for the Scioto County Public Library in southern Ohio and was the 2022 recipient of the Ohio Library Council’s Diana Vescelius Emerging Leader Award. On her maternal side, Mirabello is an only child, only grandchild, and only great-grandchild; she is also the mother of three-year-old twin daughters. She credits a childhood spent enchanted by her mother and grandmother’s family stories, photo albums, antiques, and cemetery visits as the genesis that instilled within her a lifelong fascination with and respect for the transcendental power of writing and narrative.
Ozi Ojukwu (it’s like ‘cozy’!) is a northeastern Ohio girl who was born in Queensborough, New York. A 2021 graduate of Cedarville University with a B.A. in psychology, she will start her master of public health in the fall. When not studying or working, Ozi loves to read literary and realistic fiction, write poetry, and expand her knowledge of the social sciences.
Zainab Taher is a Michigan native and currently an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is pursuing a degree in English literature with a minor in political science and aspires to study law following graduation. In her free time, she enjoys reading, visiting museums, and spending time with family.
Emily Tejada is a lifelong Massachusetts resident and is in her last semester of a history M.A. program at Southern New Hampshire University. Emily received a B.A. in history from Bridgewater State University. She enjoys cooking and visiting historical and cultural institutions. She plans to make a career out of helping facilitate access to archival materials.
Tristen Wallace is from southern California but switched coasts to earn her B.A. at Wellesley College, where she is currently entering her senior year as an English and cinema and media studies double major. In her free time, she enjoys painting, making short films, trying new recipes, and creating floral arrangements.
Karen Wassef lives in Michigan, where she attends Wayne State University in pursuit of a B.A. in political science and philosophy. Although she is only a sophomore currently, Karen intends to start law school after completing her undergraduate degree. Outside of academic writing, Karen loves creative writing as an artistic outlet, along with singing, listening to music, doing her makeup, and reading.
Mentoring our second group is Annie Ross. Annie is an M.L.I.S. graduate student at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is originally from Chicago, Illinois, and received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in political science and international studies. An avid traveler, Annie enjoys exploring new cities and spending time in nature. After receiving her degree, she hopes to bring the practices of global engagement and international collaboration into her work at a library or archive.
Annie is the author of The Legal History of Pigeons, The Great Chicago Fire, The Animal Welfare Act Grants Protection to Pets and More, and To Tell the Truth: A Short History of the Polygraph. Annie was an intern for the summer of 2021, returned as a mentor last summer, and has worked on our legal gazette project. We are glad to have her back for a second summer as a mentor!
Bethany Hollis has previously interned with the Law Library of Congress metadata internship program. She graduated with her M.S.L.I.S. from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2022 and earned a B.A. in English and history from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Her areas of interest include censorship and freedom of expression, information access and organization, and the history of information and libraries.
Jihad Jammal is a spirited undergraduate student at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), immersed in his dual major in political science and interactive media. With a strong aspiration to enter the legal field, he is particularly drawn toward international business law, aligning his studies with this interest. When not engrossed in legal texts and case studies, Jihad can be found pursuing his passion for bodybuilding and swimming. Lastly, he also embraces his love for literature and the arts, spending time reading, and drawing in sketchbooks.
Priscilla Khoo is currently an undergraduate from University College London, working towards obtaining a B.A. (Hons) in education studies. Priscilla has fostered a vast amount of interest and experience in fields related to policy, politics, and social justice. With this, she will be entering postgraduate law school in London in pursuit to develop her legal skills for both practice and research. Otherwise, Priscilla enjoys going to art museums, traveling, and spending time with family, friends, and her dog.
Katlin Kiefer is currently pursuing an M.L.I.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Katlin holds a J.D. from the Northern Illinois University College of Law and a B.S. in computer information systems from Missouri State University. Her focus is on legal scholarship and instruction. She enjoys investigating how emerging technology interacts with the law and conducting comparative law research on the matter. Outside of school, Katlin mostly enjoys spending time indoors.
Haley Long is a holder of library cards from both the Providence Public Library and the New York Public Library, having grown up in Providence, Rhode Island, and gone to college at Columbia University for three years. She is now a rising senior studying history.
Claire McHugh was born and raised in New Jersey. She holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago, where she became passionate about the study of political extremism. When not researching her latest topic of interest, Claire enjoys reading classic novels, exploring the local cuisine of the places she visits, and caring for her turtle, Olive.
Charlotte Milliken is a Kentucky native and student at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has received a B.A. in English and political science and is currently pursuing an M.A. in English through the university’s M.A. program. In her spare time, she enjoys writing poetry, drawing, and hanging out with her three sisters!
Owen Monroe is a current Ph.D. student in information sciences at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. His interests include digital humanities, pedagogy and education, and legal and literary history. His current research goals are focused on computational text analysis for literary and legal study. He previously was a kindergarten teacher in Chicago and holds an M.A. in early childhood education, as well as a B.A. in English and art history. For fun this summer, Owen will be visiting art museums, camping, and playing pickleball!
Malcolm Orrange is a Buffalo, New York native, and has spent most of his life in western New York. He is a junior at the University of Rochester and is currently pursuing majors in economics and history. Malcolm enjoys watching professional soccer and hockey and has an undying love for reading and libraries. He can often be found hiking or just spending time in the woods near his house.
Angelina Santana earned her M.L.I.S. from Dominican University in May 2023, with a concentration in library and information center administration. She holds a B.A. in political science and history from Marquette University and is currently finishing a graduate certificate in conflict resolution. Her goal within librarianship is to help improve access to information worldwide. In her personal life, Angelina enjoys reading, gardening, hiking, and visiting museums.
Mary-Claire Sarafianos is a second-year Ph.D. student in English at the University of Missouri. She studies silence and structure, both as problems in archives and as features of 19th century American women’s writing.
Subscribe to In Custodia Legis – it’s free! – to receive interesting posts drawn from the Law Library of Congress’s vast collections and our staff’s expertise in U.S., foreign, and international law.