This is a guest post by Olivia Caillouet, a student in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Caillouet is a senior horticulture major with a sustainability minor. She is planning to conduct research this summer in Mozambique, Africa with other students from U of A. Her goal after graduation is to promote food security for people of all ages and backgrounds. Caillouet wrote this post to help the Libraries celebrate National Library Week 2016. NLW’s theme this year is #LibrariesTransform.
For me, coming to the University of Arkansas was exciting, overwhelming and a joyous experience all at once. This was my own opportunity to transform. The library would turn out to be the space where most of my growth would take place the following four years. For all this to make a little more sense, let me start from the beginning.
It was my sophomore year at the U of A and having just joined the Honors College, finding a thesis topic was at the forefront of my mind. Fortunately, my academic advisor and University Professor, Dr. Curt Rom, approached me with an experience I could not turn down. Dr. Rom was in the process of submitting a grant proposal that would be approved and ultimately fund my undergraduate research that upcoming summer. The topic was sustainable blackberry production in the southern region, which aligned nicely with my degree in horticulture and sustainability minor. This would further fuel my love of fruit research and enhance my overall experience at the U of A.
This is a photo of me testing gas exchange during my blackberry field research.
The summer days were long. I was usually greeted with refreshing mornings that quickly heated up by the mid-afternoon. When fields at the farm became too hot, I often looked forward to the refreshing air-conditioned rooms of the library. The research farm at times was a sweltering, green oasis which contrasted the cool, calmness of the library, both balancing each other nicely.
The library resources taught me more about sustainable blackberry production and set a solid foundation for me to embark upon the honors thesis process. Many hours were spent in the first floor computer section which provided the ideal environment for writing and researching. Data collected in the mornings was typically analyzed in the hotter afternoons at the library.
Mullins Library served as a calming retreat from the thorn covered blackberry bushes and sun-filled greenhouses, leaving me recharged for the next day. The greenhouse and field experiments lasted several months spanning the summer and into the following fall semester. Similar to the growth seen with the blackberry plants, I too was transformed through this experience. The more time I spent at the library, I found my abilities to gather sources for literature reviews, analyze data, and create graphs became easier. Necia Parker-Gibson, Plant Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and Human Environmental Sciences Librarian, was instrumental in teaching me how to navigate the online databases more efficiently.
Over my four years at the U of A, I have seen the Libraries undergo many transformations, such as changes in staff, study areas, technology, and even book selections. Now, as senior I can look back at myself as a freshman and see the transformations that have personally taken place, too.
Soon I will be a published author and have my honors thesis added to the UARKive database and ScholarWorks@UARK, along with other undergraduate research work. This has opened doors for future growth and sparked my interest to pursue graduate education. It is my intention to continue to transform in unexpected ways while using the library space located perfectly at the heart of campus.
My advice to others is to utilize the tools available at the library whenever possible – for it could provide personal growth and experiences in exciting and life changing ways.