The School of Information Science held its spring hooding ceremony on Wed., May 3, in the Russell House Ballroom.
“This was a special hooding ceremony for the iSchool. We had our largest undergraduate class (BSIS) graduating this year, along with a large class of Master of Library and Information Science students,” said interim director Karen Gavigan.
“While your careers will vary, your goal will be the same — to connect people to the information they need to succeed,” said Dean Tom Reichert.
“You certainly have an excellent platform from which to do that. You are graduating from the iSchool at the University of South Carolina. This is a program with a sterling reputation for innovation, alumni success and faculty expertise.”
The hooding address was given by MLIS alumna Tamara Cox. She is a school librarian at Wren High School, and she is the 2022-2023 president of the South Carolina Association of School Librarians.
Cox gave concrete examples of the meaningful interactions that are at the core of the library profession. She spoke of “Mateo, who fought me about reading for three years, who finally, during the last quarter of his senior year, walked up to my desk and had to admit that he read “Up from the Sea” by Leza Lowitz and liked it and wanted more like that one.”
For an added flourish of entertainment, the student performance group Cockappella was invited to perform. They opened the ceremony with “Somewhere Only We Know” and closed it with the USC Alma Mater and “Hallelujah.”
Constance Caddell was the only doctoral student to be hooded at the ceremony. Her surprise was evident when she was asked to sit on stage with the faculty after her hooding.
Caddell also gave the closing remarks. She began with a reading of the poem “Dreams” by Langston Hughes.
“As we all prepare to venture into the world and embark on our new professional journeys, I encourage you to continue to aspire, to strive and to dream,” said Caddell.
The bright smiles on the faces of graduates and family members alike showed the hope the students carry with them now that they have completed their studies.
“Many of the students already have jobs, and others are soon to follow, with careers in librarianship, i-tech, data analytics and data science,” says Gavigan.
“It is exciting that the information science field is very well represented by our current group of graduates, and we are looking forward to hearing about their accomplishments out in the field.