Describe your background.
My parents were in the Air Force, so I was born in Guam and moved around a great deal when I was younger. When my younger sister was born, my parents decided to leave the Air Force and settle down. Aside from spending eight months in England, I’ve lived around the Washington D.C. and Virginia area since my younger sister was born.
What is your academic/professional history?
I’ve always had an interest in storytelling and how stories can make a difference in people’s lives, and I find games to be an especially interesting medium to tell stories. I have a bachelor of fine arts in computer game design from George Mason University (GMU); it is an interdisciplinary program, which meant I took classes in programming, writing, music, animation, and art, among other things! I also took Japanese studies classes and spent six weeks at Akita International University in Japan for a language intensive exchange program, and worked at GMU’s Fenwick Library as a student assistant for technical services and government documents.
I had hoped to move to Japan to work in game localization but eventually decided to pursue graduate studies and took classes online during the pandemic. I graduated in May from the Catholic University of America with a master of science in library and information science. The method might be a little different from my original goals, but I am still excited by the possibilities to make a difference in this field.
How would you describe your job to other people?
I’m an intern with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and I’m working with the User Experience team as a user experience designer. I’m working on updating and migrating layouts for the Copyright Public Records System as part of the Enterprise Copyright System project.
I’m also working on prototype designs for updates to the American Heritage Month websites — Black History Month, Women’s History Month, etc. I also helped plan and facilitate user testing on the prototypes, with the hope of improving the user experience and the discoverability of resources on those sites. We received a great deal of useful comments and insight from those usability tests. I wrote a report covering the results of those usability tests and editing the prototypes using what was learned.
Why did you want to work at the Library of Congress?
I’ve always loved libraries and was such a frequent visitor to my local public library that the librarians there knew my name. When I visited the Library of Congress for the first time several years ago, I was so overwhelmed by how amazing it was, that so much history and knowledge could be in one space, and how it was being preserved and shared for everyone. I knew that working at the Library was my dream then, and I’m incredibly grateful to be an intern at the Library. I’m hopeful that the experience I’ve gained will help me in my career, and I’d love to be able to come back to the Library in the future.
What is the most interesting fact you’ve learned about the Library of Congress?
I have been continually amazed by the breadth of the collections at the Library! I’ve been working remotely, but I recently had the opportunity to go on a tour of the Library. It’s one thing to hear about the Library’s collections, but it’s quite another to walk the length of the Geography and Map Division’s stacks (equal to the height of the Washington Monument!) and see all the different materials on display in-person.
What is something most of your co-workers do not know about you?
Other than video games and reading, my favorite hobby is costuming! I really enjoy the variety of challenges every project poses. I also very much enjoy that it allows me to practice a large number of other creative hobbies, such as sewing, painting, 3D printing, photography, and performance.