Student Stories

Gender is a powerful social category that individuals constantly use to make sense of both themselves and those around them. The Western world splits people into two categories: woman and man. These two gender categories can be used to visually sort almost all things. Individuals constantly attribute masculinity of femininity not only to people, but to animals and objects, too. With this in mind, my thesis hoped to examine how individuals interpret the gender cues that others present, particularly those present in the face. Individuals who identify outside of the man-woman dichotomy are gaining increased visibility. The core question is how has the increasing visibility of the nonbinary community begun to change how people conceptualize gender, particularly in how they perceive the gender of others?

Rising junior Estrella Salgado reflects on her experience as a Michigan Library Scholar during the summer of 2019. Her project led her to create an online exhibit about one of the world's greatest epics, the Ramayana. This experience led to increased cultural appreciation, effective organization skills, and a heightened interest in library careers.

Dorothy Ma's Final Reflection Blog Post for the 2019 Michigan Scholars Program, the Increasing Accessibility to Digital Image Collections in Japanese Studies project.

Ever wonder what rights you have to your work? Rising junior Liesa Bruin shares her experience working with the U-M Library Copyright Office (LCO) as a Michigan Library Scholar.

This summer we joined the Library Environments department for an internship focused on exploring the meaning of library as a place in different countries and cultures, in order to help the U-M Library make its spaces more welcoming and inclusive for our international students. The objective of this project was to learn how scholars in other countries engage with library spaces: the kinds of spaces available, and norms for their use. In this blog post we reflect on our experiences in the internship.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to work with the U-M Library Copyright Office (LCO) to develop a resource on international copyright law. As a rising senior who was still unsure of what I wanted to do after college, I am constantly looking for experiences to help guide me to a decision. This internship did just that. Interning with the Michigan Library Scholars Program not only helped me decide what I want to do once I graduate, but it aided my professional and academic growth.

Graduating senior Meggie Brody shares what she learned from working in a variety of positions at U-M Library, and says, "If I can leave future U-M students with one piece of advice, it would be this: don’t be afraid to ask."

EARTH-RISE is a multidimensional project focusing on bridging the gap between high school and tertiary education in STEM, particularly earth sciences, and addressing the leaky pipeline for students in high schools that are under-funded and lack resources. The earth sciences are generally excluded from most high school curricula. Many earth science majors discovered the track upon entering college; most people are unaware it is a discipline throughout secondary school and beyond. In order to attract the attention of more students, it is important to strengthen earth science secondary (and primary) education. Additionally, two of the major components that promote retention through college and beyond is whether students identify as a member of the scientific community, and whether students have access to mentors they respect who are also enthusiastic. This project hopes to rectify both issues by introducing major topics in earth sciences in an accessible and exciting way (in the high-school classroom, in the laboratory, and in the field).

This program focuses on hands-on experiences (in-class, research and in field) for high school students to encourage retention in earth sciences. EARTH-RISE is designed to form a long-lasting relationship between Ypsilanti Community High School (and Ypsilanti public schools in general), Detroit public schools, and the University of Michigan Earth department. It focuses on encouraging high school students to engage in hands-on activities and research in Earth Sciences. The students at Ypsilanti Community High School received little science education in middle school and, lacking enthusiasm and encouragement from teachers during formative years, have ruled out pursuit of STEM in later years.

BLUElab Thailand unites students from multiple disciplines at the University of Michigan in pursuit of creating sustainable solutions for flood mitigation in our partner district of Mae Chan, Thailand with the collaboration of Chiang Mai University students and faculty in the PURPLElab organization as well as Michigan-based supporters such as BLUElab, the Center for Socially-Engaged Design and University of Michigan faculty.

Our ultimate goal is to create viable, sustainable solutions that satisfies two specific flood-related needs of the Mae Chan community. Currently, we are in the process of creating and selecting designs. We are translating these designs into physical concepts and prototypes, testing them with our newly built pipe-simulation test rig.

When did you first learn about the function of a library? What did you learn was the role of a library? Library Communication and Marketing Intern Meggie Brody surveyed undergraduates in her search for the cause of library anxiety.