Growth Through Service: My Library Ambassador Experience

In Spring 2025, Leonard Lief Library welcomed a new Intern, Faiza Mohamud, to lead semester-long library tours for incoming, transfer, and SEEK students.  In addition to guiding students through library resources and physical spaces, Faiza created content for our social media account, became familiar with key learning tools such as Research Guides, and served as library ambassador for her fellow students.

To make this possible, we partnered with Seamless Educational Advancement to Maximize Lehman Student Success (SEAMLSS) Program, which offers Lehman students internship opportunities to learn problem-solving and critical thinking skills while gaining hands-on work experience.

For this Biblio-Tech issue, we invited Faiza to reflect on her experiences – from leading tours and crafting social media posts to exploring research resources – all through a service-learning lens.  We are so proud of her achievements!

Diana Moronta

During my Internship at Leonard Lief Library under the SEAMLSS Program, I gained valuable skills that will stay with me long after this internship ends.  It offered necessary flexibility, and provided the perfect opportunity to grow professionally in a supportive environment while contributing to the Library’s community service.

I participated in various activities that shaped my understanding of library work, such as providing tours, which strengthened my public speaking and communication skills.  Creating social media content enhanced my creativity and digital literacy.  In addition, I learned about Research Guides and assisted with shelf reading.

My most challenging task was guiding library tours for large groups of students.  Having social anxiety made me put in extra effort by writing pointers to ensure all of my explanations were concise and well-structured.  With time, this experience aided me in gaining confidence in public speaking.  Additionally, I assisted the Library in its social media presence by offering content suggestions, and learned more about Research Guides created by librarians. These tasks strengthened my communication, creativity, and research skills.

Another beneficial task was learning to read call numbers.  While this was pretty overwhelming at first, I slowly started understanding how the Library organizes its collection and how to find the information.  This particular skill has helped me when trying to source materials for research projects.

All the librarians and support staff were helpful.  My mentor, Diana Moronta, was particularly helpful as she guided me towards feeling calm and confident throughout the internship.  Her friendly and cheerful manner aided me in learning all aspects of the Library. This included library work’s different roles and responsibilities, essential for maintaining resources in an orderly and accessible manner.

While reflecting on my internship, I realized I’ve gained additional skills, such as ability to adapt to new environments, tasks, and time management.  These skills enabled me to slow down and take one step at a time.  I learned that controlling oneself takes time and builds confidence when adapting to new surroundings and interacting with new people.

The experience was flexible, which allowed me to balance my work with school.  Overall, my internship helped me grow both personally and academically.  I walked in with limited knowledge about how a library works behind the scenes, and now I feel more confident navigating one, whether for work or school.

I’m grateful for this opportunity and would recommend it to others seeking a meaningful and flexible internship experience.

Faiza Mohamud