June 7, 2021
Accustomed to smaller student-faculty ratios that ensure opportunities to connect with faculty and staff, Zachary Lewis made the decision to stay close to home by attending Shawnee State University for his undergraduate degree.
“I always knew that I was going to attend Shawnee because it was an affordable option that would allow me to save money for graduate school,” he said. “Shawnee was also a part of my family because my brother decided to come here as well as my cousin.”
During his time as a student, Lewis discovered his passion for identifying and meeting the needs of specific populations through SSU’s Marketing program. When he was offered a student employment position at the Clark Memorial Library on campus, he knew the position would enable him the opportunity to help and support his fellow students.
“I’ve always loved libraries because it’s a space that belongs to people, and it feels neutral and safe,” he said. “Working at the library, though, I quickly found that the best part was helping people from purely a support standpoint. As a staff member, we were not the ones grading students’ work, so there was no judgment when helping them find sources or reviewing their work.”
After the encouragement of the supportive faculty at SSU, Lewis graduated in Spring 2014 and decided to pursue a Master of Library Science degree while continuing to work part-time in SSU’s Clark Memorial Library. After receiving his degree, he was offered a full-time position in the library as the Access Services & Outreach Librarian providing research support while also helping to plan programming that brought different groups of students together within the facility.
“Shawnee sort of instilled in me this proclivity for collaboration, and that’s something you don’t always find with larger universities,” he said. “The university is so tight-knit that there’s always someone to lean on no matter what you’re doing.”
Working now as the Student Success Librarian as well as an Assistant Professor at the University of Dayton, Lewis has been able to continue helping students, especially those who are underrepresented and underserved. In his current position, he serves as a liaison to several offices offering support to international students, first-generation students, LGBTQ+ students, and other underrepresented groups.
“Because I’m a first-generation student and the majority of students at Shawnee are first-generation, I became most comfortable working with that group. So in my role here I worked with the Associate Provost to form a First Gen Success Team,” he said. “I am the co-chair of this committee, which is an across-campus body that works on identifying and jumpstarting the conversations about the issues first-generation students face.”
Lewis highly values the time he spends working with other first-generation students and graduates as they connect on their unique experiences pursuing higher education.
“There’s an added pressure of wanting to succeed because you’re the first person in your family to go to college, and we all have similar stories of feeling that pressure from being the pride of our families,” he said. “I don’t think it matters more, but completing a degree matters in a completely different way for first-generation students. It’s hard for others to understand the importance it carries because going to college is a norm for them.”
As he continues supporting and mentoring students through their college journey, Lewis cherishes the moment when his mentees graduate because he knows they are moving on to achieve great things. He wants to encourage future SSU students to be involved as much as possible during their college journey.
“The most rewarding experience in college is finding where you belong and finding your people,” he said. “Shawnee is special because it’s a chance to do just that. If I hadn’t gone to Shawnee, I have no idea what my career would be, and that’s scary because this is the job I was made for.”
This spotlight is part of an ongoing series by the SSU Alumni Association in celebration of the university’s 35 Years milestone. To learn more about alumni making a difference in their careers, visit shawneestatealumni.com for more features.