{"id":7089,"date":"2024-10-28T17:14:49","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T22:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/?p=7089"},"modified":"2024-12-04T11:33:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T17:33:47","slug":"student-employee-spotlight-the-engineering-librarys-jiberle-mustefa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/28\/student-employee-spotlight-the-engineering-librarys-jiberle-mustefa\/","title":{"rendered":"Student employee spotlight: Jiberle Mustefa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The senior from Iowa City is entering his fourth year as a library support associate at the Lichtenberger Engineering Library.<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jiberle Mustefa\u2019s final undergraduate year is underway. In May 2025, he\u2019ll cross the stage at graduation to receive a BBA in management and a certificate in international business. But he\u2019s also on track for another milestone: four years of student employment at the Lichtenberger Engineering Library. For Mustefa, the sight of the finish line has prompted a surge of reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201c[The Engineering Library] has been central to my experience as a Hawkeye and my exposure to the community.\u201d Mustefa says. \u201cIt has been the primary way that I have built connections, through interactions with people who were first patrons or coworkers and then became friends; it’s been the place on campus that I have spent the most time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustefa\u2019s time at the Engineering Library has been foundational to his college experience, in part because his employment began right away with a placement through the First Gen Hawks<\/a> program. The program aims to provide incoming first-generation students with holistic support, and that includes matching interested first-years with campus jobs where they can receive mentorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Mustefa\u2019s primary mentors at the Engineering Library is his supervisor, James M. Cox, public services and emerging technologies librarian. Cox, who was once a first-generation student himself, has watched Mustefa\u2019s personal and professional development with admiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been a true pleasure to witness [Mustefa\u2019s] growth in skills, confidence, and engagement with the university,\u201d says Cox. \u201cHis journey exemplifies the benefits of student employment that we strive for, and he epitomizes what it means to be \u2018outstanding.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustefa has plenty of praise for the Engineering Library, too, which he believes is among the university\u2019s friendliest environments. \u201cThe full-time staff really make an effort to make the space welcoming, and you can really feel it once you walk through the doors,\u201d he says. \u201cI genuinely feel like it might be one of the most social places on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observing the Engineering Library\u2019s operations and assisting the students, faculty, and researchers who form his user base has also been beneficial to his studies. Mustefa has chosen the human resources (HR) track within his major, and he hopes to have a long career in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Cox, Mustefa\u2019s \u201cfriendly nature and strong work ethic\u201d make him a natural when it comes to interpersonal communication and relationship-building, and his skills have only grown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has encountered nearly every situation at the Service Desk,\u201d Cox says. \u201cThese experiences enable him to deliver exceptional customer service to our library users and mentor fellow student employees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustefa arrived on campus in August 2021 with clear goals: to learn, to open his mind to new people and experiences, and to become part of the Hawkeye community. He now credits his work at the Engineering Library with helping him achieve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can say with absolute certainty that this position at the Engineering Library was able to do that for me, thanks be to God,\u201d says Mustefa. \u201cI always imagine that in the future, when I look back on my time in college, the Lichtenberger Engineering Library will be the first place my mind goes to.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The senior from Iowa City is entering his fourth year as a library support associate at the Lichtenberger Engineering Library. Jiberle Mustefa\u2019s final undergraduate year is underway. In May 2025, he\u2019ll cross the stage at graduation to receive a BBA in management and a certificate in international business. But he\u2019s also on track for anotherContinue reading “Student employee spotlight: Jiberle Mustefa”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":331,"featured_media":7090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"syndication":[46,58,33,80],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7089"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7127,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7089\/revisions\/7127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7089"},{"taxonomy":"syndication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/syndication?post=7089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}