Congrats to Fall 2025 Graduating Library Student Workers!
The University of Tennessee will host fall commencement ceremonies on Friday, December 12. UT Libraries takes the opportunity to recognize graduating library student assistants and to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments.
Sara Caoile is a Student Library Assistant in Immersive Spaces and Technologies for the Makerspace and Studio and Digital Initiatives’s Digital Production. She will receive her bachelor’s in Fine Arts Painting and Drawing. Sara has worked as a student library assistant for the Studio for four years and helped out with the preparation of the Makerspace opening. She has worked at Digital Production since August 2024. She plans to take a two-year break before pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts. She’s enjoyed working at Hodges because of the opportunity to meet so many of her friends at the library as well as help set up events throughout the semester.
“I have loved helping and assisting our patrons and staff. I love seeing what they create in our spaces; it always inspires me to be creative,” she said. “I’ve also learned a lot of new digital and technical skills from the studio and makerspace that has improved my artistic skills. Digital production has opened a new world for me with archival processing and preserving work. I’m amazed at the equipment we get to use and getting to work so closely with our archival collections. Because we do a lot of metadata for multiple projects, it has made me better at organization! Overall, it has been such a truly fun experience working in the lab.”
Ian Kirkpatrick graduates with a Master of Science in Information Sciences. As a Graduate Student Library Assistant and Graduate Research Assistant with Assessment Programs and Collection Strategy, he has helped replace lost and damaged books, order titles from the Juntar Suggest-A-Purchase, EBA, and DDA processes, gather usage data, and prepare materials for the annual Faculty Bookplate event, along with other day-to-day tasks that occasionally arise. He also serves as the President of the UT Knoxville Society of American Archivists club. He is currently seeking employment in academic libraries or archives.
Kayla Miron was a Graduate Student Library Assistant in Public Services at Hodges Library. She earned her Master of Science in Information Sciences this fall.
“My plans after graduation are to work in a public library where I can help develop and facilitate community outreach and programming,” she said. “I’m grateful to the Public Services for giving me the opportunity to grow and gain experience in the LIS field alongside a stellar group of people. Working at Hodges and seeing the passion this team has for the library and its patrons has solidified my desire to work in the field.”
Isabella (Bella) Vrba, a Student Library Assistant in the Medbery Makerspace, is graduating with a major in psychology and plans to become a registered behavioral technician.
“I have loved getting to see the makerspace grow,” she said, “and getting to be a part of the community of students, staff, and faculty who utilize this space. It’s been really cool to see both students and staff make things and become more open to being creative — whether they have years of experience with different types of crafts or none at all. The makerspace has a place for everyone, and it’s been such a blessing to just see that come to life and to see people find a community here.”