Over the course of the last two years, I have learned an incredible amount about the history, the present, and the future roles of libraries in our society - both in American society and abroad. It has been disheartening to learn the avenues through which past librarians have kept knowledge from people they deemed other or inferior; but I have found pride in knowing that libraries are working diligently to combat that history. I have found pride in knowing that I'll soon be joining the ranks of the Black librarians that make up on around 7% of the librarians in this country; it is a position that will allow me to continue to advocate for the information needs of people who grew up in areas like the ones I grew up and currently work in: predominately persons of color, rural, and low-income.

Going into this program, my main focuses were on being able to learn enough to do my job well; leaving, I have gained so much more than that. I was able to study abroad in Italy, where I learned about centuries-old archive and history preservation while learning what it means to immerse oneself in another culture. I have been able to take what I've learned in class and directly apply it to my work in libraries, particularly what I've learned about advocacy and engaging stakeholders. I have been able to meet and engage with other aspiring librarians, learning about what drives them to do this work and just generally learning from them.

My time in this program has been phenomenal and I am hopeful that I will be able to say that I will soon be a Sooner library graduate.