A Few of Club Raynor’s Best
By Aaron Hovind
As we all (some) know, Raynor Library is more than just a place to study for an exam or write a paper. It is home to thousands of resources and opportunities for students and faculty to learn about the ample information stored in Raynor’s catalogs. The library runs on the hard work of its employees to create a world class institution of data, support, and last-minute cramming sessions. Some of these workers include fellow students who take time out of their school day to help keep the library in top shape. I was lucky enough to sit down with a few of them to find out a what a day in the life of each looks like — in and out of Raynor.
Kate Gustafson
Year: Sophomore
Major(s): Psychology / Sociology
Position: Digital Programming Student
Kate Gustafson likes to keep busy. With her double major in psychology & sociology, and research program outside of school, her job in the Digital Programs has taught her how to organize. Kate works directly with the library’s repository, viewing professors and faculty members’ CVs (curricula vitae) and entering in their publications, presentations, and notable work here. If she does not have that information, it is her job to manually search and make sure that new faculty publications are listed in the repository. With nearly 1000 publications that need to be uploaded into the database, she uses Microsoft Excel to remain organized and tidy. Kate originally found interest in the job when she was given a tour of the Digital Programs during one of her seminar classes and has never looked back since.
What she loves most about her position is its ability to create a break from her loaded schoolwork. She works about six to seven hours a week, working in two-hour increments — a perfect amount of time to keep her mind off school. Kate aspires to attain her PhD after she graduates and would love to work in clinical research in Milwaukee or possibly Seattle. For now, she wants to continue working in the library and enjoy her new perspective on situations in college.
Vinny Difatta
Year: Senior
Major(s): Electrical Engineering
Position: Desktop Support Student
Working in the IT Department, Vinny Diffata does so to stay sharp in his major in electrical engineering. His position at the library as a Desktop Support Student allows him to keep familiar with computers and different software in and outside of his studies. Vinny’s workload consists of re-imaging PCs and Macs, updating faculty computers, and helping troubleshoot general IT issues the library comes across.
Along with the fact that his job allows him to tune up his coding and computer command skills, Vinny loves the flexibility of his hours in the IT department. Like many other positions in the library, he can schedule his work hours around his classes and add and subtract work hours as needed. After graduation, Vinny would love to work for ComEd in Chicago, one of the cities’ major power utilities, or possibly Milwaukee Tool. As an avid Chicago sports fan, Vinny enjoys the ability to watch his hometown teams up close in Milwaukee.
Alyssa Duetsch
Year: Junior
Major(s): Public Relations / Digital Media
Postion: Digital Scholarship Tutor
As a public relations major, Alyssa Duetsch wants to help make others look and feel good about their work. With her position as a Digital Scholarship Tutor in the lower level of the library, she can provide assistance for group projects, posters, and other digital assignments students need to complete. Alyssa gives direction and formatting advice for students looking to create professional looking work for inside and outside of their classes.
Also majoring in digital media, Alyssa enjoys the overlap of her job and studies. She feels as if she can give real aid to students that need it and loves the challenge that she must work out some of the questions she is asked with the students, instead of just giving them a straight answer. With her passion for storytelling and engagement with others, Alyssa hopes to work for a nonprofit organization after she graduates, and wants to continue to help others with their message they want to deliver.
Alyssa also writes for the Digital Scholarship Lab blog, feel free to check out their page as well.
Aaron Hovind
Year: Senior
Major: Public Relations
Position: Library Communication Assistant
[It’s Me!] Freshly hired, I started working for Raynor Library in August 2018 as the assistant to the Coordinator of Marketing and Outreach. As her assistant, I help maintain Raynor’s social media accounts, create and post various digital signage, and am currently in the process of jump-starting the library’s blog. I too enjoy the flexible hours of my job, the professional setting it places me in, and the ability to use my creative skills to help manage my tasks at hand. As the school year moves forward, I am excited to learn about more about the library and hopefully create the content it deserves.
Thank you again to Kate, Vinny, and Alyssa for being awesome interviewees, I appreciate the work that you guys and all of the faculty at Raynor do. If you are interested in working for Raynor library, click here to see job listings, openings, and other news about Club Raynor. Stay tuned for future posts and updates from the blog — my job depends on it.
