The Librarianship course and the other activities I have been involved in have really helped me to develop as a person

A career that involves helping people

I chose to study Librarianship as I developed a love for libraries and archives during my undergraduate degree. Before applying to the University of Sheffield, I took a year out to volunteer for the NHS during the pandemic. From this experience, I was eager to get involved in a career that involved helping people.

For me, becoming a librarian fit what I wanted to achieve as a future career and enrolling on the MA Librarianship course at the University of Sheffield was perfect. I was excited to learn more about the LIS field and discover which specific areas I would have a particular interest in. I was also super excited to get to know the city of Sheffield more and what it had to offer.

Felt like a family

It was nice to have the opportunity to go back to university and study a subject that I was particularly interested in. I did feel slightly nervous about my decision to commute to university, however, as I was worried that I would be missing out on the full university experience. I have found that this was not the case at all! There were so many social opportunities to get involved with at the university (societies, trips etc.) and I met some amazing people on my course as well. I also found the 1-hour commute to university to be very productive as it allowed me to keep on top of my university work!

I thought that the Librarianship course was fantastic! We were introduced to all aspects of the LIS sector from information organisation, leadership and management, and information literacy. I was introduced to aspects of the field that I had not considered before. This was the case for the ‘Information Literacy’ module, where the class was assigned to produce a piece of teaching, aimed at current university students. I was not expecting to enjoy this module as much as I did, and I realised that this was an area that I would like to pursue a career in. The classes as a whole were very interactive, consisting of frequent group tasks and discussions. I particularly enjoyed this aspect as it allowed us to mingle with other people on the course; we really did feel like a family!

Getting creative

During my studies, I decided to apply to become a student ambassador. I was really excited about this opportunity as I wanted to help promote the Information School to prospective students. During my time as a student ambassador, I felt that my confidence definitely grew when it came to creating content. I had never created videos or spoken to a camera before, and I had a lot of fun with it. This definitely helped me to develop my communication skills!

One of my favourite days in my student ambassador role was taking part in a photography day. We were asked to be involved in creating promotional photos for the university prospectus. This gave me the opportunity to meet the other student ambassadors for the first time. It was such a fun day where I was able to mingle with the other ambassadors in the information school.

The best part of being a student ambassador was that it didn’t feel like work! The opportunities that were given to us allowed us to get creative! I had so much fun filming and editing my own vlog-style video.

Develop my employability skills

Overall, studying at Sheffield has been one of the best years of my life. The Librarianship course and the other activities I have been involved in have really helped me to develop as a person. At times I have been pushed out of my comfort zone, but this has really helped to develop key employability skills that I can use for the next chapter. I would definitely advise you to take on any opportunity that arises during your time at Sheffield; especially taking on exciting opportunities like the student ambassador role. It’s a great way to get out there and meet new people and develop your skills.