When Amanda Hunhoff-Sepulveda began volunteering at her children’s elementary school as a reading tutor, the principal took note of her dedication to helping students succeed.

In need of someone to help manage the school’s newly built library, the principal asked her if she was interested in joining the staff as a library aide.  

“I fell in love with running the library and helping children discover their passion for reading,” Hunhoff-Sepulveda said. “Despite my excitement, I had been out of the workforce for nearly a decade raising my children and had little professional experience or educational background in the field. I knew that to give the kids even more of myself, I would need to further my education to become more knowledgeable in the field.”

Hunhoff-Sepulveda already had an associate degree from Moraine Valley Community College in Business Administration and Management. She searched for a program that would allow her to retool her skills and found College of DuPage’s Library and Information Technology Certificate program.

“The program allowed me the flexibility to continue working part-time at the library while still providing me a high-quality education that I needed to be successful in my new job,” she said. “There were so many students in the certification side of the program who were already working professionals and changing lanes like myself but were looking to become more knowledgeable in their field.”

Despite taking online-only courses, Hunhoff-Sepulveda felt supported by COD throughout her educational journey and graduated with high honors.

“My instructors did a wonderful job making themselves available to me,” she said. “They were excellent at returning my emails and were eager to hop on a Zoom to help walk me through something when I needed further clarification. I was even able to form relationships with some of my classmates.

“The Library and Information Technology program was exactly what I needed.”

Learn more about the Library and Information Technology program at College of DuPage