iSchool Life

Home > iSchool Life > National Distance Learning Week > Online Student Profiles > Lorraine Porcello

Lorraine Porcello

Lorraine Porcello is completing two master’s degrees as a distance learning student at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool). Porcello started a degree in 2006 as a master’s student in Library and Information Science (MSLIS). In 2007, she added the master’s program in Information Management, and she is scheduled to graduate with both degrees in May 2010.

“I chose to complete the dual degree program because I became fascinated by Information Management during my first campus classes in 2006,” Porcello said.

The majority of Porcello’s classes made use of a discussion board, which acted as an environment for classroom interaction. Porcello prefers this method of interaction because it is more demanding and more productive.

“This setting gives me a chance to consider the questions being asked and craft a suitable answer, and it is much harder to hide in this setting,” she said. “If you’re not participating in the discussion, there's no way to fake it!”

Porcello, who lives in Rochester, N.Y., has come to SU’s campus four times within her four years as a student. She was required to come in 2006 and 2008 to take part in gateway classes for each of her degree programs.

Porcello chose to return to campus in 2007 and 2009 to take some iSchool electives she found interesting, such as Copyright Law in the Digital Age and Introduction to Digital Forensics.
“Both courses were of interest not just for the content but because of the qualifications of the instructors,” she said. “Mark Pollitt, who teaches Digital Forensics, was the chief of the FBI’s computer forensic unit.”

In addition to taking two courses per semester, Porcello works full-time. She said online courses were an ideal way for her to continue her education while still keeping up on her everyday commitments.

“It requires a level of organization and discipline that is different from campus classes but, in some ways, it is more rewarding,” she said.
Her courses have provided her with the knowledge she needs to succeed in her current career in academic librarianship.

“My experience in the distance learning program has been a challenge, a positive one,” Porcello said. “I believe that I have gained more resources and learned more than I would have in a strictly campus program.”