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Spotlight: Amber Sewell, Teaching and Learning Librarian, University libraries, two years at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ

Tell us about your experience at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ?

I came to 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ two years ago from Knoxville, Tennessee. I moved out here without ever having visited this part of the country, and I’ve got to say, I’m loving it! My work at the Libraries is primarily with first- and second-year students, particularly first-year seminars and English 102, and it’s an exciting time to meet with students and talk with them about research. It’s a great opportunity to demystify scholarly research–we talk a lot about how you can research things you love that you wouldn’t have considered for a class assignment, and how your lived experience has a lot of value in the academic world, too. I also get to do a lot of work with games and games-based learning, which I love, whether it’s setting up board game nights in Lied or hosting a workshop with the Faculty Center on how to incorporate games into classrooms. 

What is your favorite thing about working at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ?

The 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ community is so special. The students have such unique perspectives; I love learning about what interests them and listening to the questions they’ve got. Their passion and vision is really inspiring. My colleagues are amazing; their value on a student-centered approach to our work, and their support of the various ways we can support 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ students, is invigorating even on days when I’m struggling. The people really make it, ya know?

What trait do you most like about yourself?

It changes based on the day, but overall I would say my enthusiasm. I like to dive into things I’m excited about, so I’ll often say that I’m not an expert on something, but an enthusiastic participant who is willing to ask questions and do the research. This means I’m always keeping an eye out for ways to collaborate with others; it also means I rabbit hole quite often, which sometimes leads to unexpected, but fun, results. I think this helps me connect with students, too; it’s really easy for me to get excited about their research and questions and connect with their own enthusiasm, which helps make what can be a tedious process more enjoyable.

Tell us something that might surprise us about you.

As a tenure-track faculty member, I’m required to participate in service activities. The vast majority of my national service is with the Games and Gaming Round Table of the American Library Association, where I’m currently a Member at Large and co-chair of their programming committee. This means at any given point during my work week, I could be creating puzzles, double-checking ciphers work correctly, strategizing how to bring celebrities from the gaming world like Critical Role or Dimension 20 to ALA’s annual conference, or even be streaming on Twitch as a group of us play a tabletop roleplaying game and then discuss how we’d use it in our different library settings. 

What inspires or empowers you?

I’m inspired by other people’s passion. I couldn’t tell you the number of times I’ve been momentarily convinced I could explore another career path or hobby purely based on the enthusiasm with which someone talked about their own experiences. And sometimes I’ve followed it, like in making my own library podcast, The LibParlor Podcast; other times I come back to earth and remember I hate math, so maybe getting a computer science degree wouldn’t be as fun as it sounded when I was talking with that student or faculty member that really loves what they do. 

Tell us about a woman who has been a mentor to you.

I wouldn’t be where I am if Ingrid Ruffin, associate dean/division director of research and education at Lied, hadn’t come to speak at a class I was in during my information sciences Masters program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her position as then Student Success Librarian was the first job I’d heard about that really sparked my excitement, and when she later became my first library supervisor at Hodges Library at UTK, her student-centered approach really set me on the path I’m still on. It was an approach that really centered connection and fun, and I can’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t had that experience. So it was a fun surprise when we both moved to 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ from UTK within two weeks of each other back in 2021!

Any advice for women starting careers on campus?

I’m a fan of cold-emailing people who are doing cool things and asking to chat. In line with that being inspired by other people’s passion, if I see something in 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Today or hear about a cool project on campus that resonates with me, I’ll send an email to express my interest and appreciation for their work, and if they’re willing, volunteer to grab a beverage sometime to learn more about it. Not everyone has the time in the semester, but I still like to let people know that the work they’re doing is resonating with others on campus.