Announcing the 2025 NCDS Data Librarianship Internship Participants!

Posted by jmartinez on May 23rd, 2025 Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: data internship, data librarianship, data literacy, data management, data science, ICPSR, MIT, NCDS, University of Michigan, Weill Cornell Medicine

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The NNLM National Center for Data Services is proud to announce the fourth cohort in the Data Internship program! The goal of the program is to provide graduate students with practical experiences and skills for obtaining data librarian positions. These paid internships offer opportunities to work with real life data and scenarios while working with a mentor in a guided environment. After a highly competitive application and review process, the following individuals have been selected. They start June 2, 2025 and complete the internship on August 8, 2025. 

This year, they will work on projects with four internship partner sites:

Project 1: University of Michigan Library

“Looking to the past to address the future: making recommendations for augmenting and updating metadata fields in an institutional data repository”

Fadhia Mohamud	My name is Fadhia Mohamud (she/her), and I am pursuing a Master of Science in Library Science at the University of Kentucky. Prior to this, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Secondary Education. As an immigrant from Somalia, I am deeply committed to creating spaces that reflect and serve diverse communities. My professional background includes teaching and mentoring students from diverse backgrounds, including English Language Learners and students with disabilities. I am eager to pursue a career in data services and librarianship, and I look forward to the valuable experience this internship will offer as I begin this path. My professional interests focus on digital resource accessibility, data curation, and data management, with a commitment to supporting equitable access to information. In my free time, I enjoy reading, swimming, and traveling.
Jake Gibson	Hi, my name is Jake Gibson. I recently graduated with a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute, and I am currently the project manager of Virulent Hate, an interdisciplinary team documenting anti-Asian racism and Asian American activism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this work I have experience supporting faculty and undergraduate research, managing research data, building project websites, and visualizing information.My research interests include data curation, digital humanities, critical media studies, and data justice, and I’m thrilled for this opportunity to dive deeper into data librarianship. I earned a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) from the University of Michigan, and I am a former User Services Fellow at Brooklyn Public Library’s Center for Brooklyn History.
Nadia Merritt	I’m Nadia Merritt, a recent M.S. in Information Science graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill who is driven by a passion for empowering communities through access to information. My research interests are information literacy and access, data feminism and physicalization, and edutainment. I served as President of the UNC-CH Student Chapter of the Special Libraries Association and was a systematic review intern at Wake Forest University. I obtained my Bachelor of Business Administration from Georgia State University, which led to me working in tourism, acquiring insight into marketing, digital assets management, and information management. I work as a public library paraprofessional, assisting entrepreneurs and aiding in workforce development. In my spare time, you can find me crafting, sipping tea, and relaxing with loved ones. I’m excited to participate in the NCDS program, gaining hands-on experience, learning to communicate insights, and contributing to the advancement of information services while being mentored.

Project 2: Weill Cornell Medicine, Samuel J. Wood Library

“The comparison of secure data enclaves’ maturity at multiple Health academic institutions: An In-Depth Analysis of 2023-24 Survey Data from Secure Data Enclave managers and faculty at libraries and core facilities in multiple R1 universities”

Alexandra Cross	My name is Alexandra Cross, and I am currently pursuing a Master of Information at Rutgers University with a concentration in Data Science. I recently completed my first year in the program and previously earned my bachelor’s degree in English and Psychology from Rutgers as well. Alongside my graduate studies, I work for the Office of Teaching Evaluation and Assessment Research, where I provide administrative support for university-wide assessment efforts and end-of-course student surveys. At the core of my academic and professional aspirations is a commitment to making information more accessible, engaging, and meaningful. I’m excited to be part of this internship cohort and look forward to further developing my data skills while learning from peers and professionals in the field.
Kathleen Konno	My name is Kathleen Konno and I am pursuing my MS in Information Science with a concentration in health librarianship and health informatics at the University of North Texas. Previously, I worked for many years in public libraries, eventually gaining an interest in consumer health programs. Now, my career goal is to become a health sciences librarian specializing in working with health research data, so I am very excited to learn more about data tools during this internship. I currently live in Houston, Texas and in my free time I enjoy birdwatching, live music, video games and spoiling my pet cat.
Oluwatobi (Tobi) Adepoju	My name is Tobi Adepoju and I am in my second year of the Master’s program in Library and Information Studies at Old Dominion University. Prior to this, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Public Health and Africana Studies from William & Mary. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, where I currently reside. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music, honing my language skills in my native language Yoruba, and spending time with friends and family. I am looking forward to building my data skills and connecting with other fellow interns and mentors.

Project 3: ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research)

“ICPSR Metadata Field Audit: Who’s Filling Out What?”

Anna Hill	Hello! My name is Anna Hill (she/her). I am pursuing my Master’s in Library and Information Science, with a concentration in Metadata and Digital Technologies, at Drexel University. I hold a BA in English from Colorado College and am currently based in Philadelphia. I’m passionate about health and information equity and interested in the maintenance and preservation of metadata to make information accessible. I’m excited to expand my data skills and gain hands-on experience this summer!
Noah Hernandez	Noah J. Hernandez is a recent graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) MLIS program and an intellectual explorer dabbling in a wide variety of library interests. He discovered a love of informatics by accident while attempting to understand what the internet is and how it works. (He is still learning.) In doing so, he fell into the data rabbit hole of digital preservation, data visualization, metadata, and data cleaning. Some say he is still falling to this day. He is a believer in access, accessibility, and user sympathy. In his off time Noah loves to read, take long walks, analyze music, be with friends, and lay next to his dog. His favorite season is Autumn and his favorite animal is the hummingbird.
Viviana Martinez	Hello! My name is Viviana Guadalupe Martinez, and I’m soon graduating from the MLIS program at the University of Washington. I’m originally from Portland, OR, but grew up in Guerrero, Mexico and parts of southern California, where I developed deep ties to my black and latino communities. I earned a BA in History with a minor in Education from UC Riverside, where I studied Black and Indigenous histories. This meaningful work sparked my interest in libraries, archives, and the role of metadata in preserving community histories. My current interests include knowledge organization, descriptive metadata, and data visualization. As I near graduation, I’m excited to continue working on data-driven projects that center accessibility and equity. Through this internship, I look forward to expanding my skills in data practices and data librarianship. After graduation, I plan to return to Portland, where I hope to bring back my rich experiences.

Project 4: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries

“Collections as Data: Assessing the Role of the Libraries’ Purchased Data within the Institutional Research Ecosystem”

Kalycia Hodge	My name is Kalycia Hodge, and I am finishing a Master’s of Library and Information Science with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Data Science at Syracuse University. I earned my undergraduate degree at Northwestern University, where I studied English and Neuroscience. My journey toward data librarianship has been fueled by a love of research across disciplines. I have experience with STEM and humanities research, studying fruit fly brains, aggression, and mating patterns; as well as investigating social dynamics in literature, film, and music. I am from Portland, Oregon, am an avid reader, love fiber arts, sports, being outdoors with my puppies Milo and Athena, and plan on pursuing a career in information that supports social and environmental change, and/or public health.
Nat Cavender	Hello, my name is Nat Cavender. I am a student in the Master of Science of Information Science program at UNC, where I also earned my Bachelor’s in Information Science. A tar heel forever, I was also born and raised in Chapel Hill. I enjoy cooking, long walks with my dog, and if I have a data visualization project, I try my best to make it a map (big map fan). My academic interests focus on data collection and organization, and how emerging technologies are transforming data interpretation. I am especially interested in promoting ethical data use and empowering users. Working with the NCDS offers an opportunity to explore how library professionals drive meaningful insight and equitable access , and I am looking forward to learning and contributing.
Nicholas (Nick) Mishkovsky	My name is Nick Mishkovsky, and I’ve recently completed my MLIS degree with a certificate in archiving at Queens College, CUNY. I hold an MA in Roman History and Archaeology from the University of Kent in Canterbury, and have conducted field work in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and Norway. These past years have been a journey of transition into the wider world of library and archival studies, with the intention of migrating to a new career in data librarianship. Throughout it all I have retained my love for research, and I am excited at the prospect of working with my fellow interns and the NCDS team to learn new skills to conduct and facilitate research, and to create and expand digital repositories with a focus on preservation, security, accessibility, and use.