Name: Sarah HamnerArea of Study: Master of Public Administration
Library Department: Archives and Special Collections
Bio: I grew up in South Jersey, and got my undergraduate degree in Agricultural Leadership from SDSU. I worked for South Dakota 4-H for about six months before deciding to come back to school full time rather than online, and switching directions from agriculture to administration. This is my second year in the program. My bookshelves at home are overflowing, so in my spare time I try and get through the books I bought and haven't found time to read yet. I'm also working on family history research for my own curiosity- leading to many of the unread books at home.
Library projects you are working on:
I'll be primarily working with government documents this semester, focusing on Jim Abourezk's papers. I don't know too much about South Dakota politics, being from so far away and then being so deeply involved in the 4-H and Ag world for my first four and a half years here. Working with these papers is already really interesting, and continuing with these is going to make for a great semester. Next semester will be a continuation of Abourezk, adding a project with a South Dakota writer from West River and her collection.
What do you like about working for the library, what is interesting about your project/job?
I'm really enjoying working here because I was split in my decision for a graduate degree when searching, one being PA and one being library sciences or archives, so it's great to see what kind of work I would have been exposed to had I taken the other route. It feels like I'm able to get a little bit of both things, so that's very satisfying. I'm also enjoying just looking for something in the stacks and being around all the older and rare things in the Archives.
