Wayne State has been instrumental in laying the foundation of my education and career. I’ve felt supported and have been surrounded by diversity.

For School of Information Sciences graduate Tiffany Dinwiddie, things “just fell into place” when she began working for the Wayne State University Library System. She transferred to WSU as an undergraduate and felt that she finally found the place where she belonged.

“Wayne State has been instrumental in laying the foundation of my education and career,” Dinwiddie said. “The university helped me realize what I really wanted to do. Not only as a student, but also as an employee – I’ve felt supported and have been surrounded by diversity.”

In 2018, Dinwiddie was selected as member of the Association of Research Libraries Fellowship for Digital and Inclusive Excellence. The program introduces undergraduates from a variety of disciplines to digital stewardship and strives to promote diversification of the research library and archives workforce. Dinwiddie interacted with members of her cohort and learned about how diversity affected them and their lives. She said the networking experiences, professional development and the opportunity to attend a conference in Washington, D.C. were invaluable to her.

Dinwiddie currently works for Wayne State’s Center for Urban Studies. She is responsible for communicating with Detroit Public Schools special education students and parents to evaluate programs and performance measures for the district to aid in improving them based on the results.

After completing her master of library and information science degree in August, Dinwiddie said that she would love to continue working at Wayne State because of its welcoming and supportive environment, but is also interested in exploring youth librarianship in public libraries. She became interested in youth librarianship after taking a course by Dr. Kafi Kumasi. The course allowed Dinwiddie to network with and hear the experiences of working professionals, which helped her gain confidence and feel supported as she approaches the beginning of her career in the field.

“Wayne State has been a great steppingstone in my life,” Dinwiddie said. “My advice to students is to always welcome constructive feedback, plan your days well to stay on top of schoolwork and reach out to professors and colleagues to pursue fellowship, mentorship and professional development opportunities.”