by Ryan Eanes (Media Studies), a recent NMCC Graduate

I first became aware of the Knight Library’s Digital Scholarship Center as a student in Dr. Mondloch’s “Digital Humanities” course this past winter term. My classmates and I attended a lunch lecture presented by Dr. Terry Fisher from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society that included a brief tour of the DSC and an overview of the kinds of work being done there. When the opportunity came up to participate as a DSC Graduate Affiliate, I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect, given that it is a new program.

Four of us ended up participating; three of us were from the School of Journalism & Communication, while the fourth was from the Department of Psychology. Our meetings every week or two became an opportunity to consult with each other on our various research efforts, collaborate on projects, and to have a bit of “sandbox time” where we explored a variety of topics including secure web browsing, copyright, and networks.

While the Graduate Affiliate program is still in its infancy and there is some question as to whether it will continue or what form it will take in the future, I believe that participation presented a unique opportunity to come together with like-minded grad students who wanted to learn from each other. I would definitely encourage any grad student from anywhere in the university who is curious about digital research methods and approaches to academe to apply, should the program be repeated in future terms.