Lexi Kiil
University of Texas at Austin
School of Information 2022 Graduate
Bio
Hi There!
My name is Lexi Kiil. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest.
I am a 2022 Masters of Information Science graduate from the University of Texas at Austin School of Information with an Endorsement of Specialization in Health Informatics and Collections Care. I also have an Advanced Teaching Preparation Certificate from the UT Center for Teaching and Learning.
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I have a Bachelors of Arts from Washington State University in English and a Professional Writing Certificate. As well as an Associates of Arts degree from Clark College.
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I began building my personal library at a very young age. I love to read, craft, learn, and give random facts I've picked up over the years.
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Have a look around, see some previous papers I have written during my time at the iSchool and feel free to reach out if you'd like to connect.
I pursued a Master of Information Studies, with a focus on Health Informatics with the career goal in mind to become a Medical Librarian. Becoming a medical librarian didn’t come clear to me until my third year of undergraduate work at Washington State University Vancouver. I knew I loved to do research and write papers; however, it was not until the idea of becoming a librarian was suggested to me that I really started to consider the career. I would like to continue to learn and improve my professional development capabilities.
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My interest in health related information piqued as an undergraduate when I was able to take a Graduate level course called “20th Century American Literature.” In this course, I wrote a Graduate-level research paper about environmental causes of cancer relating to a book we discussed in class. This allowed me to look at my family history, which is filled with a variety of cancers and the possible environmental contaminants that may have been a contributing factor to their disease. I have found that connecting my personal life to my academic interests allows me to meld my passion for learning new topics while helping others. It instilled an interest in helping students, doctors, patients, and their families and to be able to bring some comfort through sharing information while helping improve health literacy.
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My time at the UT iSchool allowed me to pursue my career goal of becoming a librarian. I was able to complete two endorsements of specializations in Health Informatics and Collections Care. My interest in collections care came about because I find the process of repairing damaged bound materials, recovering materials from disasters, and long term preservation to be fascinating. I also completed an Advanced Teaching Preparation Certificate through the UT Center for Teaching and Learning, and was a Co-Director for the School of Information Student Association. My first year with the iSchool was spent learning online due to the pandemic. During this time I worked 40 hours a week as I took full time classes in pursuit of my Masters degree.
I have always enjoyed working with people and helping solve problems. As an assistant secretary at a high school, I learned the importance of working quickly and efficiently while helping as many people as possible. I also have experience volunteering in a hospital and working in K-12 libraries.
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