Summer 2025
At the University Libraries, many students are part of the team that keeps facilities open and services available for the CMU community. These students staff the circulation desks at both Hunt and Sorrells libraries, serve as Stacks Assistants, assist the University Archives and the Sustainability Initiative with processing collections and engaging in outreach, and more.
Please join us in celebrating some of the talented students on our team this summer.
Rising Dietrich College sophomore Violet Pronko, who is majoring in Global Studies, splits her time working at the Hunt Library circulation desk and shelving books, organizing the stacks, and pulling books that are on hold. Part of her position is being available to help when someone needs something or has questions about the libraries; the other part is keeping the space clean and organized.
Pronko, who is also a textile artist, is especially drawn to the IDeATe Soft Technologies Studio in the basement of Hunt Library. She can often be found spending time in the space, working on creative projects.
“The University Libraries (especially Hunt) provides great spaces for research and studying. I love them because the libraries themselves are resources, but the staff, archives, librarians, and everyone else in them are resources for student life, personal projects, and any research you may have to do. I especially love the librarians and the Archives for academic and art projects. They're some of my first contacts when starting a research project!”
To Library Assistant Hailey Cohen, who is a rising Dietrich senior majoring in Social and Political History and Environmental and Sustainability Studies, the Libraries represents the knowledge base of this institution — encompassing so many different resources and collections that embody the past, present, and future of Carnegie Mellon.
During a typical shift, Cohen fulfills requests to loan out technological resources like chargers, calculators, and office supplies. She helps people access spaces like study rooms and keeps the common spaces nice for all patrons. She also works with books, shelving returned items and helping people locate specific items that they're looking for. She wants the CMU community to know that Libraries has a ton of amazing resources that are not just books — if students want help with a research project, want to learn programs like GIS or LaTeX, or want to look at photos of CMU's campus and student life over the ages, the Libraries are the place to turn.
“My mom graduated from CMU in 1993 and I love to look at her edition of The Thistle in the Archive, giving me a small window into her college experience. My dad's books that he wrote when he was a college professor are kept in the stacks in Hunt which makes me feel connected to him academically as well as personally. It is really special to me that the Libraries is preserving not only the university's history, but my own family history, and that my work as a Library Assistant helps to support this institution.”
Rising School of Computer Science junior Kwame Asare is a Library Assistant at Sorrells, responsible for checking out books and lending out items like HDMI adapters and calculators. He also aids patrons in locating specific books or resources they are searching for, and likes to think of his role as helping students solve small problems so they can focus on bigger ones, like learning, creating, or just getting their assignments done.
As someone who lives a bit farther from the center of campus, Asare appreciates that the Libraries provides a quiet place for students to get work done or rest between classes without having to travel all the way back home. Even when he’s not working, he can easily spend the whole day between Hunt and Sorrels, reading random books he finds on the shelves and completing homework assignments.
“There’s something about seeing other students deeply focused on their work that can be motivating in itself; it makes you want to push through your own procrastination. The Libraries provide exactly that kind of atmosphere. Sometimes, being around that kind of focus is what you need to get back on track.”