Graduate Students Unite!

Hey everyone! I pop in and out of this website from time to time. I'll give a brief intro and then open the floor to help other graduate students get to know each other!

My name is Ava, I'm 23 years old, and I just finished my BA in History with a minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies. Fun fact about that: I was actually the first person at my school to ever sign up for the NAIS minor and graduate with it! I'm very proud of that fact, and I got a plaque with my name on it to show for it! I've published a master list of resources that I used for my Indigenous studies here; feel free to check it out!I was also the Vice President of the Undergraduate History Club for a year before I had to step down due to an internship that took up more of my time, which eventually turned into a part-time position for a semester. I made many friends there after only two years at this four-year institution, and I still talk to them today. 

Before my BA, I earned my AA in General Studies from my community college, which I absolutely loved attending! I rediscovered my love for dance (even though I'm not good at it, haha), changed my major from Chemistry to General Studies, and, two semesters after the change, found that History was the program for me. I became the Treasurer for the dance team at my school, and after a series of mass fundraising efforts, I eventually grew the club by 35%. I was also one of the commencement speakers at my graduation ceremony! I was also the first in my family to ever get an AA (let alone any degree; I'm a first-generation student)!

Outside of school, I hang out with friends at the beach (I live on an island), love going out to eat, cross-stitch, read, and go to my local library for some uninterrupted me-time. I have a wonderful boyfriend of 6 years (been together since COVID, woah) who also just graduated with his BS in Electrical Engineering Technologies (a program that opened up when he got into college, so he's the first class to graduate)! He'll be moving into my house with my family toward the end of the summer. We haven't set a date for it yet because he's still working on schoolwork, but it should be sometime in August. I have three cats, named Mitzi, Mouse, and Moxie, all of which have my heart.

Now, I'm enrolled in an MS program in Information and Library Sciences at my top-choice school! It's a completely online async program (which, I don't mind, but I do prefer in-person classes because the material sticks with me better). There are a few different librarianship tracks, such as law librarian and music librarian, but I will be focusing on the archival and academic tracks because I'd love to work at a four-year institution or at a historical society near me! I'm hoping that a few of my classmates are on or near the island, so I can visit and we can chat sometimes.

Here are some ice-breaker questions, fellow graduate students:

1) What did you get your AA/S and/or BA/S in, and was it something you always knew you wanted to do?
2) Did you get into your first choice of graduate schools if you applied to multiple?
3) What are some of your hobbies outside of school, and did they help steer you toward your current program?
4) Are you in any clubs at your school now as a graduate student? If so, what are they, and if not, why not? 

Talk soon! :)