Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies is proud to announce that Sarah Appedu, a third-year Ph.D. student, has been selected as a 2024 ALISE Leadership Development Internship Program winner.
Those selected for the program have “significant potential to provide future leadership for ALISE and in the broader field of library and information science,” according to the group‘s website.
Appedu was one of three interns selected to attend ALISE’s upcoming conference in October in Portland, Ore. She will participate in leadership development sessions and present a group project with other interns that aims to address organizational needs within ALISE. All interns receive complimentary conference registration, hotel lodging and a cash award of $1,500.
As part of her internship, she will also be matched with an ALISE leader, who will mentor her and help her identify organizational and professional activities to participate in during the coming year.
“Being selected for the ALISE Leadership Internship is both humbling and empowering,” Appedu said. “The professional development, networking, and communities in which I will have the opportunity to participate is invaluable to my scholarly and personal development.”
A first-generation college student, Appedu is working to earn a doctorate in Information Science and Technology. Her research is focused on critical library and information science education, feminist technology studies and the impact of AI technologies on society and methods of intervention for information professionals.
“I plan to use these experiences to continue building on existing advocacy for critical, expansive, and justice-oriented research and education in the LIS field and fostering more equitable informational and technological futures,” she said.
Appedu currently works as a teaching assistant at the iSchool, where she teaches sections of the undergraduate course IST 343: Data & Society.
Before studying for her Ph.D., she earned a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2022 and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Gettysburg College in December 2017.