Alumna Spotlight: Samantha Wallace
English Department alum Samantha Wallace is now pursuing a Master of Library Science degree online through Texas Woman’s University. She is also working full-time at Bee Cave Public Library in Texas. “Long-term,” Samantha says, “you'll find me sticking around public libraries to increase community access to resources and protect intellectual freedom.”
Samantha notes that her decision to aim for a career in library science was largely impacted by her time working in the USU Libraries’ Institutional Repository. An accomplished and ambitious student, Samantha was also involved in many other projects during her time at USU, such as serving as Assistant Director of the Writing Fellows program with Director and Principal Lecturer Lezlie Christensen-Branum and assisting Professor Lisa Gabbert with research for her book, The Medical Carnivalesque.
Lezlie says, “Samantha Wallace is a dream learner. Her quest for improving her own knowledge is boundless. But I think probably the overarching thing about Sam is her positivity. It's infectious. It's why I asked her to be an assistant, and she was an assistant for two years, and that's the only time that's happened. She can really strike such an excellent balance between offering constructive feedback but then at the same time, praising someone for what they do.”
Samantha says the Writing Fellows Program was one of the most influential parts of her time at USU. “I developed mentorship skills and deepened my understanding of the writing process. I'm glad I was able to help so many students through this program, but the truth is being a Writing Fellow positively impacted my writing more than anything else at USU,” she reflects.
Samantha also emphasizes the importance of her time doing undergraduate research for Lisa’s book. “Working with Sam was an absolute pleasure,” Lisa says. “She was involved in many aspects of the process, including helping find illustrations, checking quotations, proofing the bibliography, and copy editing. She was an amazing help and I’m so grateful that we could work together.”
In her job at the Bee Cave Public Library, Samantha is working on creating fun library programs for kids, among other responsibilities. She reflects, “As an English major, I frequently thought about the soft skills I was learning in my classes. While soft skills are important, I've been pleasantly surprised to see how much the content of my classes have also been directly valuable. From designing documents to updating our website to (of course) recommending books, I constantly find myself utilizing what I learned in my English courses. My library even hosted a program on Latinx folklore!”
Samantha extends a thank-you to the instructors she had during her time at USU. “As a librarian-in-training,” she says, “I'll consider myself a success if I can foster half as much of a love of learning in patrons as my professors did in me.”