Susan E. Sutherland came to library science with sparkling credentials gained from a three-year stint at Solstice Capital, a venture capital firm in Boston. She enjoyed the research side of her position as an associate and decided to turn her favorite responsibility into a new career.  After checking out library school options and considering the recommendation of a friend who completed her degree there, Susan settled on the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The skills she acquired were put to good use in her graduate assistantship at the University's Business and Economics Library where she answered reference questions and helped train students to use business and finance databases. She also served as a Commercialization Research intern for the Office of Technology Management, where she performed intellectual property research and analyzed business and legal issues related to valuation of emerging University technologies. These opportunities allowed her to get practical experience answering real questions in real time, which is what she liked most about her library school adventure. 

Susan has accomplished many things while she was a GSLIS student. Top on her list was getting her current position as a Research Analyst with McKinsey and Company in its North American Knowledge Center in Waltham, MA after graduation. That came about because she attended the SLA conference last year in Nashville, where she met with their representatives. She was also proud of having received a stipend from the SLA IL Chapter to attend that conference and, of course, receiving the CBG Entrepreneurial Promise Award at the University of Illinois this year. But above all, she felt that her library school experience itself had to be rated high, because it led to going to other great places and finding new directions.

Working in her current position in a major management consulting firm was Susan’s idea of the almost perfect job. She loves the business environment because she contributes as a partner on the team and plans to stay there as long as she can. Susan would like to become more specialized in her research skills and perhaps work someday in a warmer climate. 

What advice would Ms. Sutherland give to GSLIS students? "Get as many assistantships or internships as you can, especially shadowing experiences in corporate library settings if possible. Not only will they show you what your role could be and help you decide on what you can do when you graduate, but they are significant asset in the job market."