Writing

As a graduate student in Grand Valley State University’s Master’s of Applied Computer Science program, I chose to do a mix of both projects and papers in order to explore problems via code as well as explore questions via research. Below are papers written for my courses.

Algorithmic Bias in Software Design and AI (Dec. 10, 2021)
Written for CIS 622 Software Design Methodologies

The Ethics of Software Engineering from the Lens of Library Science (Dec. 10, 2021)
Written for CIS 611 Introduction to Software Engineering

How Gender Impacts Requirements Engineering (April 20, 2021)
Written for CIS 612 Requirements Specification

Selected book reviews

Working the reference desk at a public library meant I needed to read broadly in order to stay on top of my patrons’ preferences. But not all patrons can make it to the library or are comfortable approaching a staff person to ask for recommendations. So a fun way of recommending good reads to our patrons was through contributing book reviews to the library’s blog.

Londoners by Craig Taylor (Oct. 11, 2013)
American Vampire by Scott Snyder (Dec. 20, 2012)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (May 3, 2012)
I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb (Nov. 16, 2011)
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (July 19, 2011)

Selected news stories

Before I was a librarian, I worked as a newspaper reporter. The newspaper business taught me how to work on deadline, how to ferret out information and how to be resourceful. I thrived on the variety of each day, working both independently and with the team of staff members that it takes to put out a paper each day. My stories ran the gamut: crime, courts, education, lifestyle and nearly everything in between.

I often gravitated toward articles that examined popular culture, technology and community. Here are some of those stories.

Maggie C’s magazine circle holds unbroken learning tradition (June 8, 2008)
Sisters preserve inspirational stories of Mama Rose (Nov. 29, 2007)
Do you want to know a secret? For Potter fans, answer is NO (July 22, 2007)
Kids get to the root of Tooth Fairy mystery (Sept. 18, 2006)
MySpace isn’t private space (Feb, 17, 2007)