As the academic year comes to a close, we’d like to recognize and celebrate our graduating student employees. Your dedication and work helps make W&M Libraries a welcoming place for our community, and we appreciate each one of you!
Student employees are essential for the day-to-day functioning of the Libraries. They provide assistance at our public service desks in Swem and help perform many behind-the-scenes tasks from cataloging and stacks maintenance to digitizing materials from Special Collections. They can be seen delivering books to faculty, training students in the Makerspace and Reeder Media Center and assisting with our many exhibits and special events.
Whether you’ve been with us for a semester or multiple years, you are a valuable part of our library team. While we will miss your energy, enthusiasm and hard work, we’re also thrilled to see where life’s journey takes you next! Know that no matter where you are, you will always have a place here at the Libraries.
Each year, we ask our graduating students to choose a book for the Libraries to purchase and add to our collection. Read on to see their selections:
Circulation
- Hannah Douglas
- Ella Goldschmidt
“A Frog in the Fall” by Linnea Sterte
I have been a longtime follower of this artist, and an even longer-time fan of inventive and imaginative graphic novels. I hope that this book can be a quiet escape for anyone who finds themself in the vortex of chaos. - Levi Goldson
“Black Bolshevik” by Harry Haywood
I think this book is very impactful, but it's pretty hard to find so I thought it would be perfect for Swem’s catalogue and I hope people check it out. - Kat Knoerl
“Song of the Closing Doors” by Patrick Phillips - Joanna Meyer
“School Psychologist As Counselor, 2nd Edition” by Cynthia Plotts & Jon Lasser - Nikhil Rao
“Julian” by Gore Vidal (1964)
I chose this excellent historical novel to reflect my interest in history and public service. - Patrick “Fizzle” Skelley
“Tales from Watership Down” by Richard Adams
"Watership Down" has been my favorite book of mine for years now, and "Tales from Watership Down" adds so much depth to the amazing world already created. That and you can't go wrong with a book about rabbits, of course. Highly recommend both to anyone and everyone! - Taylor Slaven
“The Push” by Ashley Audrain
As a Psychology major particularly interested in child development, the mother-daughter relationship in “The Push” was fascinating and chilling—it’s a fantastic read for those interested in thrillers and the lifelong nature-versus-nurture debate! - Amy Weitzman
“Into the Wild” by Erin Hunter (suggested by supervisor) - Nora Wood
“Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them” by Ross Greene
Content Services: Cataloging & Metadata
- Levi Goldson
“Black Bolshevik” by Harry Haywood
I think this book is very impactful, but it's pretty hard to find so I thought it would be perfect for Swem’s catalogue and I hope people check it out.
Digital Services
- Abigail Davis
“Unruly Labor A History of Oil in the Arabian Sea” by Andrea Wright
As an anthropology student, I have often struggled to find free versions of obscure readings. I chose this book, written by W&M professor Dr. Andrea Wright, because I believe it should be shared with the widest audience possible, without financial burden, and especially where W&M anthropology students can benefit from its insights. - Cassidy Palomares
“A Day of Fallen Night” by Samantha Shannon
Epic fantasy novels hold a special place in my heart, and this one in particular will stick with me for a while. It combines incredible representation with a heartwarming tale about motherhood and sisterhood, and every one of its eight hundred pages is worth reading.
External Relations
- Jenna Massey
“The Wonder Spot” by Melissa Bank
Melissa Bank was a phenomenal writer who was unfairly pigeonholed as a “chick lit” author simply because her books focus on women's stories. Her two novels, “The Wonder Spot” and “The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing,” are unassumingly funny and poignant. I recommend her work to all of my writer friends, and I’m thrilled to have this novel join Swem’s collection! - Chloe Moore
“Pay Dirt” by Sara Paretsky
I chose this book because it is the next book in a series that I featured in my senior thesis.
Library Ambassadors
- Linna Cui
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot - Vishakha Shah
“If” by Rudyard Kipling and Manna Fiovanni
Reeder Media Center
- Monica Bagnoli
- Naomi Fraser
“Cinder” by Marissa Meyer
Though I first read “Cinder” in middle school, it is to this day one of my favorite books. A dystopian-sci-fi-fantasy hybrid, “Cinder” (and the subsequent novels within The Lunar Chronicles) bends my favorite genres into one epic saga that continually inspires the fiction I write today. I hope that whoever may pick up “Cinder” from Swem will experience the same wonder and excitement I felt when I first flipped through its pages. - Faiza Isa
- Punnammal Gross
“Theosis the true purpose of human life” by Archimandrite George
This book has helped me find meaning! I can't wait for others to read it! - Henry Millar
“How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips” by Barefoot Contessa
It’s one of my favorite cookbooks! The recipes are incredible.
Special Collections Research Center
- Grace Brooks
- Clarissa Cantacuzene
“The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation” by Jonathan Hennessey (chosen with help from supervisor) - Aiden Curran
- Shradha Dinesh
- Taylor Fischer
“Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Y. Davis - Catherine Freemon
“Love Is The Way” by Michael Curry
I currently serve as the president of Canterbury, the Episcopal Campus Ministry, and am a big fan of Presiding Bishop Curry! He’s so inspirational, and his words on life and loving others are something I think everyone should read. - Xincheng Hou
“Qigong Fever: Body, Science, and Utopia” in China
This book talks about the history of qigong fever—the largest mass-organized movement in contemporary China, when millions of people practiced qigong! The book is fundamental for my honor thesis, and it is suitable for anyone interested in Chinese history and culture as well as the politics of body! - Bryleigh Jackson
“Whose Names Are Unknown” by Sanora Babb
In “Whose Names are Unknown,” I find resonance with Sanora Babb, a woman whose beautiful narrative threads were often overshadowed by men like John Steinbeck. Yet, her words shine with a beauty that transcends time. As a woman pursuing an M.A. in history, I’m drawn to this book for its poignant portrayal of struggle and survival—a tale that resonates with my journey. In dedicating it to Swem Library, I honor its symbolic significance as a beacon of women's resilience and the enduring power of storytelling. - Jamie Lukow
- Kendall McKinley
“Los Intelectuales y La Organizacion de La Cultura” (Spanish Edition) by Gramsci - Cecilia Weaver
“Buying into the World of Goods: Early Consumers in Backcountry Virginia” by Ann Smart Martin
I chose this book because it was a key source and inspiration for my honors thesis. I first read portions of this book in my material culture class, and used Martin’s analysis of ledgers as guidance in my own work. Her use of material culture within business records allows for a discussion of underrepresented groups along with an illumination of daily economic life in colonial Virginia, all while providing an engaging narrative centering individual experiences. - Amy Weitzman
“Into the Wild” by Erin Hunter (suggested by supervisor)