Wednesday, March 4, 2020 by Mary Lynne Bartlett
Hi everyone, my name is Mariam Rizvi and I am in my last term of Environment and Business here at UWaterloo! I have been a Library Ambassador for over three years now (basically most of my undergrad), and I have absolutely loved the role. The Library Ambassador program was fairly new when I started, but I have seen its immense growth over the past few years. What I love about the role is that you get numerous opportunities to grow your own skill set, while having a lot of fun! In my past terms, I have always executed the Harry Potter Trivia and Photo Booth project, which is very close to my heart and will remain as one of my warmest memories of undergrad. Interacting with students is something that I enjoy and value in this role. Activities such as mentoring, meeting Library staff, and writing blog posts allow me to reflect on my personal experiences with the library and help me build connections that I will cherish even after I graduate. I never felt like this is a ‘job’ during my time as an LA, but rather found it to be a fun and interactive role while enhancing my interpersonal abilities, problem solving, and project management skills.
During my time here as an Environment student, I was given a chance to learn about cartography and how to create geographic maps! I found this to be a really cool addition to my skill set and it spiked my interest in geospatial data. Fortunately, the Geospatial Centre located at the Dana Porter Library (Computer Lab LIB 329) was very resourceful and helped me find information for a few of my courses. The Centre provides services directly related to cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to students, staff, and faculty here at the University of Waterloo. It provides access to GIS technology, aerial photographs, and digital and printed maps! The Centre also offers reference services, access to remote sensing data, and workshops. I found it very useful while working on my GIS assignments as I found data that I could not easily find online. If you haven’t checked it out, make sure to do so to take a look at some really cool findings and take advantage of the services available to you!
The Geospatial Centre is only one of the many amazing services that the Library offers for UWaterloo students. Keep a look out for other services that you can benefit from as a UWaterloo student in regards to your assignments, papers, research and more through blog posts by my fellow Library Ambassadors. Personally, in addition to the Geospatial Centre, the Waterloo Digital Library, Assignment Planner, Omni Search Tool, and the Writing Centre are services that have helped me enormously during my undergrad career, and I encourage you to benefit from these as well. They are sure to make your research work and assignments easier to get done, and enrich them with plentiful information!
Lastly, as this is my last term being a Library Ambassador, I am happy to say that I have achieved more out of the role in terms of personal growth as well as giving back to the Library than I had initially expected. The services that the Library offers have eased my success as an undergrad student, and I am pleased to have gained all the experiences that I did at the Library. Looking back, being a Library Ambassador will be one of the many fond memories I have of my time here at UWaterloo!
-Mariam
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