Wren Cowell

Tell us your Smith College Libraries Story.

I've always loved libraries, and I volunteered shelving books in middle school, so when I was looking for a student job at Smith I knew that working in the libraries would be my first choice. I got ridiculously lucky to get my job at Josten, I applied right before school started my sophomore year as they were looking to fill specific hours that I happened to have free. I have always found Josten to be an incredible space that fosters a great community among the student workers, and working there made me even more interested in librarianship. After my junior year, when I was looking to explore librarianship further as a potential career path, I asked my supervisor Janet if I could work at Josten over the summer. She said yes, and also connected me with Mary in the library gifts office, allowing me to find a second position as her student assistant that I could hold concurrently. Working with library gifts has allowed me to connect with alumni donors and further explore so many aspects of the Smith libraries, from creating a book display, to packaging materials to send to other libraries, to creating social media content for the Smith libraries.

Working in the libraries has had an immense positive impact on me, I think it has really allowed me to find my niche at Smith, meet incredible friends and mentors, and feel as though I'm contributing to something bigger than myself. It has also absolutely influenced my future plans because I am now planning a future for myself in librarianship, which was not what I saw for myself when I first came to Smith.

Outside of the Libraries, what are your interests and hobbies?

I'm a co-president of the Writers' Flock creative writing club, and I absolutely love writing short creative pieces in a really supportive community. I also love reading, thrifting, and watching reality TV!

What is next for you after graduating from Smith?

I will be getting my masters degree in library science, with the goal of eventually becoming a legal librarian.

If you could impart one piece of advice to incoming first year students, what would it be?

Reach out to people and chase your interests! College can feel immensely isolating at first, but the truth is that you're a part of an incredible network that will be here to support you if you take the scary step of making that first connection. Whether it be a potential friend, a professor, a club, or anyone else in the Smith community doing something that you find interesting, your life will be so enriched by taking the step to connect with them.