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Emilio A. Hernandez is a Student Assistant in Special Collections at the USF Tampa Library. He is graduating this December with his Master’s in Library & Information Sciences! Emilio loves to hangout out with his buddies offline and online. He’s a huge fan of board games like Catan, and enjoys model building, photography, and cooperative video games.
What have you enjoyed most about working at the Library? (What will you miss most?)
I think the two most important things I will miss is the people I work with and the environment. It has been the best place I have ever worked at, and I am really going to miss it.
How has the Library contributed toward your academic goals?
The USF Libraries have contributed greatly to my education, with free resources for class papers and projects. The search engine used by the USF Tampa Library has quickly become my place to go to find information about anything educational.
How has working at the Library aided in your career goals?
The USF Tampa Library has given a very good look into the profession that has been my dream. The people in Special Collection have been nothing less than amazing in showing me what it looks like to work in a library. It has granted me an idea of what I want to do with my shiny new degree.
What are the next steps in your career?
My next step in my career (hopefully) is get a position straight out of school at a local library. I think I am flexible with any position if it allows me to learn and interact with patrons daily. I will admit I might lack the same level of experience that most of my peers do when it comes to library work, but I will not let that stop me. It has always been my dream to be a librarian, and it’s up to me to reach out and take it!
What advice would you give someone on a similar path as yours?
I would tell them to take a couple of classes that deal with technology in the library. I focused more on the traditional classes, and I will admit it’s been tough at those interviews when they bring out questions about technology. Been doing a crash course to catch up!
How has it been working and studying during the pandemic? (How did you balance it all?)
Due to the program being online, very little actually changed. To be honest it did not affect me in the slightest. Which is a good thing!
What is one skill or fact you learned about yourself over the past year/through the pandemic?
I took an internship over the summer and the job was completely online. I will admit it was my second-best work experience ever!
What are you most excited to get back to?
I never realized how much I liked going to those ma and pa restaurants with my friends until everything was shut down. I really missed it!
Congratulations on graduating, Emilio! And thank you for your many contributions to the Tampa Library. GO BULLS! 🤘