Dr. Stephanie Gamble, PhD in History | Upper School Librarian at Sidwell Friends School

In this episode, we discuss how a childhood interest in Native American indigenous cultures eventually led Stephanie to pursue a PhD in History, what drew her to a career as a librarian and her experience transitioning into this role, and her dedication to mentoring current PhD students who are similarly interested in exploring ways to apply their doctoral skillset in careers outside the typical academic path.

Hosted by Brooklyn Arroyo

To connect with Stephanie and to learn more about her story, visit her page on the PHutures #100AlumniVoices Project website.

Transcript

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Brooklyn Arroyo 

Hello I'm co-host Brooklyn Arroyo and this is 100 Alumni Voices podcast stories that inspire where we explore the personal and professional journeys of a diverse group of 100 doctoral alumni from Johns Hopkins University. Today we're joined by Stephanie Gamble, PhD in history, currently working as an upper school librarian at Sidwell Friends School. So welcome to the PHutures Podcast. How are you today? 

Stephanie Gamble 

I am well, thank you for having me. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

Of course. So, I would love to hear a little bit about your experience with studying history and sort of what led you into studying that as your PhD. 

Stephanie Gamble 

Sure. I went to undergrad thinking that I wanted to be an anthropologist, which is where I ended up starting taking more history classes. I went to William and Mary for my undergrad and their history program and anthropology program were really very well suited to collaborate together with a lot of things. And there was a lot of cross-collaboration and so I just started taking more and more classes in both. But I came to that because I had always had an interest in Native American indigenous cultures, even from like the time I was a kid. And that's why I wanted to study anthropology I thought when I was going into undergrad. And then that morphed into a double major. And so, by the time I was graduating undergrad, I had decided I wanted to do a PhD and focus on history instead of the more anthropological side of things. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

And and history is a very broad subject. So, you know, so, within your experience of studying something so broad, did you feel that you, you already mentioned you're a little bit more inclined throughout your life to study indigenous cultures, and and did you see that inclination to be studying more specific things within your PhD? 

Stephanie Gamble 

Absolutely. So, I focused on sort of the Atlantic world and Colonial American history, early American history for the course work in seminars that I did while I was at Hopkins in the history program and did write my dissertation on cultural interaction with indigenous cultures and between indigenous cultures. So, that interest that I've had from the time I was a child sort of really did provide a through line all the way through the research that I did as an undergrad and in Graduate School and and continues to be an interest for me in the work that I do still. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

And so now you work within academia, really within a library setting. And so, do you have a lot of experience with interacting with students? Because I feel that this subject area would probably be super beneficial to just teaching people about things that we aren't necessarily often taught about within traditional academia. So, do you experience a lot of interactions with students and being able to share some of the knowledge you've had about those that subject area? 

Stephanie Gamble 

Absolutely. So, I work with students all the time and this is the third different library I've worked in, so that's been consistent across all the libraries I've worked in in university libraries, and now I'm in an Independent School library working with high school students and a lot of work that I do with them is not only sort of introductory to research classes where I'm talking to a whole group of students, but lots of follow up one-on-one sessions where we're talking about individual research projects, and one of my favorite moments is like when they come and they have a topic especially related to something that I have studied more deeply and they're like I have no idea what to do. Like what do I look for for this? And I'm like, oh, you need to read XY and Z like and they're like how do you know all of this? That's my job. But it's fun to see how, like amazed they are at that background knowledge that can be brought in and most of the research projects that are done in my school are through the history department. So that background knowledge in history has been hugely helpful in doing research consultations with students on specific topics but also, just broadly with really deeply understanding the research process as a researcher now teaching it, I know both sides of of that. You know what it's like to be on the struggling research side and help students through those pieces and the things that they might not think to look for or notice or really spend time on when they're doing research when they're really focused on getting that good grade at the paper at the end, sometimes they miss they miss out on how fun it is to get in the weeds of looking at things that they're researching and analyzing. So, that background, both in like the content matter that I studied, but also just like the processes that I was doing all the time as a graduate student have been really helpful. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

And and I do know from my own personal student experiences that sometimes the librarians, most of the time, they're just really awe inspiring because how I don’t know how they remember so many book titles and so many subject areas. They’re always just my favorite people that go to whenever I need to do research projects. So, thank you for that work. 

Stephanie Gamble 

Yeah, well, that's good to hear. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

But I I'm interested to know a little bit more about your insights and what advice you would have for people who are currently stepping deeper into research roles, whether it just be within their entire major or just one project for one class and and what does that look like when you're stepping into really deeply studying a certain subject? 

Stephanie Gamble 

That's a great question. So, one of the things that I always tell my students at the start of every research project that they're working on is that the most important thing they can do at the beginning is to make sure that they are deeply curious about the project that they pick. And and partly there's, you know, some folks have, like, an intellectual interest that they know for like, a long time, right? Like, I knew from the time that I was a child that I was interested in native people. So, no matter what class I was taking, I always found a way to write my research paper in some way connected to indigenous cultures. But not every student knows what those intellectual interests are that they have yet, and so it might come from a totally different direction. Maybe they're an athlete and they just love everything about sport, then that can be the place to dig it and be like, alright, how do we apply some question related to sport to whatever this class is, whether it's, you know, in science and looking more deeply at, you know, the intersections of sport with what whatever discipline within science they're taking or, you know, in history you can turn thing into a research question in history because as long as it happened, there's something to study and something to look at. So that, I think really is the most important thing, because otherwise the research process is painful and tedious because you just don't care. Like it's not interesting. You're not curious. And the whole process is going to be a lot more miserable, and you're going to miss things that if you were really invested in and cared about that topic, that you would have picked up on and noticed and kind of gone down the rabbit holes to find out more about. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

Definitely having that that drive to actually research and actually study it is really the backbone of a lot of intent, especially the intense research projects. As someone who's experienced, I think everyone's experienced this at least once where you have to do research project in the class and you're given the subject and that is some of the most grueling work anyone can ever experience that drive to be curious about it. And so, for those people, like you said who may not have necessarily been able to explore or find any inclination of, you know, being drawn to a certain subject. And so, what would you say to people who haven't really had that sense of passion for anything yet and are wanting to find something that really draws their attention and speaks to them? And there's so many subjects out out there. It's almost overwhelming and you don't really know where to start and and what how would you go about that? 

Stephanie Gamble 

I think having broad experiences really helps a lot. The more experiences you have, the more you can sift through and say like, this was cool. That was boring. I like doing things this way. I enjoyed this kind of really hands on research that I get to do in science or, you know, and I can't stand textual research. Or maybe you're like, oh, I just discovered how cool old books are and like maybe I want to do more research that takes me into that. So, the more things you try, the more options you have to look through. And I think that helps a lot. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

So, within your own experience of being drawn to native and indigenous cultures, do you feel that there was a point where you realize that or there was a point that made you more inclined? Or did it sort of just snowball from your childhood? And was it something that was influenced by your identities at all? How did that manifest for you? 

Stephanie Gamble 

1st so it's not something that comes from any kind of shared identity that I have, but it wasn't. I was, you know, I was a really avid reader as a kid. And so, I got kind of the right book at the right time. And I thought it was really cool. And then I just ended up doing a lot more reading. And and my curiosity and interest continued to grow throughout childhood. And I think there was really a moment in college, though, when I realized, like, oh, this, this has to stay part of my life. And it was, you know, I don't remember exactly which year it was, but I, you know, I had written research papers in a bunch of different classes at that point in you know in both of my majors. And I looked back at them and I realized that every paper I wrote was somehow related to native people and cultures, like even in classes that were not about native people and cultures. And I was kind of like ohh this this clearly is something that I just keep circling back to you and keep coming and finding and that needs to stay that way. Like, that's where that's where my interest lies. And so, I knew that I liked, you know, I liked early America. And so, I had been taking a lot of classes in that time period and era. But that sort of realization of, like, oh, without prompting, I keep writing things that are tied in this way was what helped me realize that that was definitely an interest that I had that I needed to just sort of embrace and go into much more, you know, with open arms and say, like, this is what I'm going to look at from now on. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

I think that oftentimes because academia is viewed as a very like, linear process, and we're told not necessarily very diverse amount of careers we can take, it's seeing that we have our our special interest and then we have what we're academically pursuing. And I think that fortunately, there's there's a there's a change that's happening where people are starting to tie those together a little bit more. And agreeing we can't academically pursue our interest. We should be doing something that we love. If we're going to be doing it for the rest of our lives. So yeah, I think that that's really important to that realization of I love this, so I might as well study it and continue doing it and find some sort of way to have a career out of this. So, within your work, have you experienced any sort of challenges in implementing what you studied within your PhD? Or was it very smooth transition from research on your own in your own capacity to helping others with the research and in the library setting? 

Stephanie Gamble 

I would say it really was a fairly smooth transition in a lot of ways. I had and part of that was because of experiences that I had had up through graduate School as well. So not just in, you know, I wasn't a PhD student in a bubble. I was working at the information desk in the library, which wasn't really doing research consultation type work. It was, you know, mostly pointing to people to where the bathrooms were and things like that. But it was a chance where I was, you know, sitting right outside of the reference desk with the librarians working and interacting with them and seeing a little bit more of how the library worked. Even if I didn't take that job consciously to scope out what it was to be a librarian, and so, so I had that little bit of experience and I had teaching experience from things opportunities at Hopkins, where I did a Dean’s Teaching Fellowship and was doing TAing as part of my program, and so I was spending time working with, you know, designing classes where I was assigning research papers and helping students through the research process as an instructor and you know, and then teaching opportunities that I had outside of that too, right, like I taught, I taught canoe and kayak classes as a summer job for a couple of summers in Graduate School. And so those things helped with that transition as well because you know, I had those experiences with teaching and I had the all of the experience of doing research and talking a lot about that research process with other you know, graduate students in my department. And so that helped kind of make a lot of the pieces of that process crystallize and also see the different ways that folks were interacting with that process. And so, then when I got to my my first role like full time job as a librarian was actually as the title was I was an undergraduate learning specialist. So, it really was focused on, you know, teaching, particularly early career undergraduates, you know how to work with these resources, and so I was just coming off of doing lots of really intense research, so I knew the library systems in and out from doing that myself and was able to really relate to the types of things that they were struggling with as they went through stuff because I didn't come in with the specific training on how to be a librarian. And so, I was like, oh, yeah, why is this part like an area where we're snacking? Like, why is this issue a struggle? Because I had that struggle too. So, that that was really helpful. It was also the way that I came into that position because they were specifically looking for people who had teaching experience, not necessarily requiring like a, you know, a masters in library science and so that that teaching was really the the pivot point that allowed me to move from sort of the traditional academic path into working with students from this different angle. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

And I think that you briefly mentioned before for a separate question, but I think the idea still stands within this that having a wide variety of experiences really is just going to help with your ability to implement yourself in different areas that you didn't necessarily have professional training for or the quote UN quote correct training. So, you were able to really help those students I think with those mentorship opportunities. And for you, has mentorship been a pivotal part of what you like to do and what you're pursuing within your career? And I know you work with students a lot and within education and teaching and now within the library system, and so has that been something that's really pushed you forward in this space? 

Stephanie Gamble 

It is definitely something that I engage with a lot. You know I do in my current role, I'm an advisor to students, and so there's a lot of mentorship is definitely a piece of the way the advising system works. And I have because of how challenging it felt for me at the time to feel like I was sort of breaking away from the mold of what was expected for me to do with my degree that I had wished that there were more people I could have talked to about that and so I have maintained an interest in, you know, being open to mentoring other, you know, PhD students who are in that position of looking at other places to go other directions that they can take their career. So that piece is something that is very important to me to be able to do, you know when when folks find me. So that's I agreed to do things like this where I get to be in a position to be, you know, to be findable by students who are, like, I want to do something different and I don't know how to figure out how to get started in that. So that that type of mentorship is something that I care about a lot. It wasn't what directly drove me into looking in librarianship. The three things that were really important to me as I figured out what direction I wanted to take my career were that I wanted to stay engaged with research in some capacity. I really like research and love learning new things, and it's what keeps life interesting for me. And so, I wanted to be able to continue to be connected to research. I enjoy teaching and so I wanted to be teaching in some capacity and I wanted to work with smart people because that's what makes getting through the work day a lot more pleasant. You know, I wanted to be able to have interesting and engaging conversations. All of the years I spent in grad school seminars were often really stressful because of, you know, when when you're the one who's being having your work critiqued and questioned, that's really stressful, but also trying to make sure that you're asking a really intelligent question can be a lot of pressure that you put on yourself. And it's one of the things I miss most now on the other side is that, you know, routine place every week I know I'm going to have these really bright intellectual conversations with people and and so even though it's not structurally part of the way my job is set up, I knew I wanted to be working with really smart people so that those types of conversations could happen. So, mentorship wasn't specifically in there, but it shows up, you know, throughout that type of work, working with students when you're not their, you know, classroom teacher really is a lot of mentorship work. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

And you bring up the the good point that it can be stressful, oftentimes within within academia and we have to have those academic conversations and speaking academically and and and when in reality outside of the classroom, we're still holding ourselves with a lot of knowledge and with respectability, quote UN quote. But I think that there's a lot more freedom because within the classroom setting there’s am I doing it right? What's my grade gonna look like? You feel pressured of being judged as you said, by other people critiquing your work. So, I think that it is a good point bring it into like that sometimes it's just good to be around people who are similarly passionate about learning new things and constantly being curious. So, if you've thought about it yet, what would the next phase of your career look like? 

Stephanie Gamble 

So that's one interesting thing with librarianship is that it's, you know, often you're the only person in your institution who's doing the work that you do. And so, in terms of, like, clear linear progression in that it's there's often like not a whole lot of tiers to it, right? Like I am the librarian in my school. So, like there's nowhere in the library for me to move up to. I'm already like I am the one and only. But that said, I I do think a lot about there's, you know, librarians have a lot of great networks that they’re a part of you know either or, you know, the types of libraries that they're involved in or things like that where there’re, you know, national boards and and networks and certainly they've been incredibly helpful to me as I've entered this area of work to be able to see all of the like amazing content that gets generated through those and so that's, you know, leadership in those kinds of directions is one way that, you know, I'd like to continue to get more involved in my profession when you know as I said like there is only one job in my institution for for this, you know, which is, I think, a challenge that this particular career path makes. That said, you know when I was, you know, librarian at university universities have a lot more folks working in their library system, so there are more possibilities for how to move around within that. But it also means that the work is very different in different areas, right? Like when I worked at university libraries, I never actually checked out a book to anybody. So even though I've been a librarian for five years before I started in my current role, I had never actually checked out a book to somebody until my first day here. Because things are much more siloed, so even there there's not always a whole lot of growth within the type of library work that you do. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

But leadership roles within those those networking opportunities I think would be an excellent fit for you with your wide variety of experience and inclination towards looking at history. I think that history is super important for literature in general, just understanding where this was written, how this is written and what context and that sort of thing. So, the grand finale of each episode is the same question for everyone, and that is what inspires you right now?

Stephanie Gamble 

I mean, I think what I see most often in my day-to-day work that is inspiring is, you know, I get the opportunity to constantly be looking at new scholarship and new literature that's coming out because yeah, so I'm doing, I'm ordering all these books for our students and trying to find the right fit for them for things. And it's always so much fun, because seeing all the directions the scholarship is in is moving in, how many more books are available, you know, to students like right now, you know, teen mental health is in in such a crisis and so, like, seeing all of the really wonderful things that are coming out in that area and reading through those has been it's like, wow, these things did not exist when I was a teen. Like teachers, when I was a teenager, were not reading books like this about, you know, and thinking deeply about, you know, teen mental health or topics like that. And so, I’d say probably the most inspiring thing that inspires me most right now is just like how much more we have to learn and how well we're moving in that direction on a lot of these topics. So that there's just more information available to people every day. 

Brooklyn Arroyo 

There's a lot of right directions that we're headed I think for for issues that have been or just topics that haven't been well talked about within our society and and culture at large, so that's definitely super inspiring. So, thank you for coming to the PHutures Podcast and speaking with me and sharing some of your insights. 

Stephanie Gamble 

My pleasure. Thank you for your questions today.