Tyler Martindale quit his real estate appraiser job and started waiting tables and bartending not long after he graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in business economics.

“I had that early millennial mindset, and I didn’t want to do something I didn’t derive personal satisfaction from for the rest of my life,” he said. “So I was figuring things out. While I was doing that, I was going to my local public library in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and thinking that the services it provided me were invaluable.”

Helping students find science resources comes naturally to Alexa Carter (’18). When she was an undergrad at the University of Tennessee, earning her degree in chemistry, she often found herself helping other students find information for lab classes. Her interest in chemistry merged with a love of the information sciences when she began looking for an elective to take.

“I had a friend who was doing information science, and she thought, with my curious nature, I might like it. So I took a class as an undergrad and kind of fell in love with it,” Carter said.

When MSIS student Dylan Miller heard local LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization OUTMemphis speak at her library about LGBTQ+ inclusivity, it planted the seed of an idea: why not host a Pride event at the library? She wasn’t the only one who understood the importance of the organization’s message and had the same response – two other Benjamin L. Hook Central Library employees met up with Miller and an OUTMemphis representative, and together they decided that such an event should happen.

SIS Director and Professor Diane Kelly was recently elected incoming chair-elect for the iSchools organization. She will serve two years as chair-elect beginning in March 2020 at the iConference in Sweden, and will work alongside Gobinda Chowdhury, professor of information science and chair of the iSchool at Northumbria University, who is iSchools incoming chair. Her two-year term as chair of the organization will begin in 2022.

Featured student: Yasmin Stoss.
Location: Knoxville, TN.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Japanese.

Career: After graduating, I was working for a while, I had two full-time jobs before I started the master’s program.  One of them was working with an institutional review board at a different university and through that job, I got a job with a tech company, Techsoftware.

When Will Biggs left the United States Marine Corps after 10 years of service, he started a job hunt that proved to be a bit rougher than he had anticipated.

“I was looking at county jobs and had probably applied to at least 15 positions, and nobody gave me a chance until the public libraries did,” he said. “I started working at the library and I realized I liked it.”

SIS Director Diane Kelly was the honorary coach for the University of Tennessee football team in its game versus The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Nov. 2 – a game the Vols won 30-7.

This coaching assignment wasn’t just a simple walk onto the field; Kelly first took a tour of the Anderson Training Center and VFL Films Studio, where she learned about  all the technology and information sciences that support the university’s athletic endeavors. She even got to see the Lady Vols swim team working out in the weight room (and resisted joining them for a few clean-and-presses!).

SIS Clinical Associate Professor Cindy Welch was chosen by the University of Tennessee’s Teaching & Learning Innovation to be a Teaching Innovator for 2019.

“When it comes to Teaching & Learning Innovation, I never say no because they’re so great at what they do,” Welch said.
TLI provides support to faculty members, teachers, and staff through programs, services, and partnerships to enrich student learning.

Featured Alum: Jenny Moore

Location: Maryville, Tennessee

What is your education background and how did you end up in East Tennessee?

Throughout his career as a librarian, Marcellus Turner (’88) has often chosen his next position by the city rather than the job itself – soaking in each new location’s culture, challenges and opportunities. He always had his eye on the Pacific Northwest and is currently celebrating his eighth year as chief librarian for The Seattle Public Library. He loves his job, he loves his city, and he believes he is in a very good space in a long and fulfilling career.