Virginia Seymour

"Academic librarianship is not the career I expected when I started at the iSchool, but my current role is in many ways the obvious culmination of my arts background and iSchool experience."

I am a Research and Instruction Librarian at an art and design university, providing research support and information literacy instruction to students on creative career paths. Academic librarianship is not the career I expected when I started at the iSchool, but my current role is in many ways the obvious culmination of my arts background and iSchool experience. My time as a Graduate Research Associate at the Harry Ransom Center gave me the opportunity to explore research support, public services, and classroom instruction. Through that GRA position, UT classes, and Career Development Office opportunities, I gained life-long mentors that helped me leverage my diverse experiences and hone job application skills. I often joke that I never took a single traditional library course in the iSchool; instead, I developed management, database, and assessment skills that complimented hands-on library experience. This stood out while interviewing for my current position, as these skills are in greater demand in academic libraries every day. I encourage current and prospective iSchool students to keep an open mind to a variety of career possibilities while at UT. From attending professional events to taking classes in other schools, take advantage of every opportunity to develop new skills and explore.