SLIS and History graduate student Alexandrea Penn has been named as the winter 2017 Ronald Raven Annual Award Winner. This honor is awarded to students each fall and winter semester and consists of a tuition stipend and a semester-long internship at the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs.

During the fall 2016 semester, Alexandrea began working alongside audiovisual archivist Deborah Rice at the Walter P. Reuther Library on the campus of Wayne State University. Alexandrea's work has contributed to improvements in the organization and description of the Wayne State University Photograph collection in preparation for the university's sesquicentennial celebration.

Originally from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Alexandrea moved to Detroit to pursue graduate studies in history and archival administration. She has previously worked at the Michigan History Center at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum and also volunteered for the Marquette Regional History Center. Alexandrea pursued available opportunities at the Reuther Library to further explore her interest in archives. As Alexandrea explained in her award application letter, "Working at the Reuther has enabled me to become involved in the daily workings of an archive. I am able to put what I am learning in the classroom directly into work, and vice versa."

Alexandrea will continue her work at the Reuther throughout the winter semester.

Congratulations to Alexandrea on behalf of all of us at the School of Library and Information Science and thank you for your work at the Reuther!