Though she grew up 30 miles away from campus, Tyra Briscoe never thought the University of Michigan was an option until she attended the School of Information’s Community College Summer Institute.

“It really put into perspective for me that I could go to U-M,” she says. “Before, I just completely ruled it out, thinking they weren’t going to accept me. At the outreach program, they made it clear that I was qualified to attend this school and be in this program.” 

At the time, Briscoe was earning her associate’s degree in library technical services from Oakland Community College. She was confident that she wanted to become a librarian, so UMSI’s accelerated master’s degree in library science sounded like a great fit for her. 

“Coming to UMSI, I learned some things I never came across in my research,” Briscoe says. “For example, I now know that there are librarians who focus on UX and accessibility.” 

She realized this would be the perfect way to combine her BSI in user experience design with her future studies in library science. Now, Briscoe’s goal is “to make library resources accessible to a wide variety of people.”

As a member of the Transfer Student Advisory Board, she is invested in the experiences of fellow transfer students. One of her favorite UMSI memories is of a pizza and game night at the end of her first semester. The event was casual — just an opportunity to relax with her transfer cohort — but it also felt significant. 

“We got to celebrate that we finished off the first semester really strong,” she says.