Mubashir Hassan sat attentively in his Human Services class last Fall quarter, listening to Deborah Moore, a Highline College librarian, give a presentation about the Highline College Library’s services and resources. Mubashir was already an avid library user, so he knew much of the information that Moore was sharing.
What he didn’t know was that he was already well-known among the librarians as a dedicated student and friend of the library.
"Mubashir is the only person I see here all the time," Moore said, gesturing toward him during her class presentation. A bit stunned, he couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t know that the librarian knew his name and recognized him.
“Being noticed by the librarian, that was great,” he says.
Mubashir’s dedication to his work and his consistent use of library resources and services earned him a place in the Student Spotlight.
His love of libraries blossomed soon after he moved to Washington from Arizona with his family, when he started to go to his local public library.
“I started going to the Valley View library in SeaTac,” he said. “That's where I used to go all the time to look for employment and use their computers. Then, I started reading books and stuff.” Soon enough, he had built a reputation as a friend of the library.
Now at Highline College as a student in the Human Services program, it didn’t take him long to see the value of the Highline College Library.
“I love the computers in the Commons,” he says. “I saw the setup of the library and I was like, if you have any questions, there's a staff member to help you with computer problems.”
Mubashir describes how he can conduct research in the library’s databases, print research articles or his own papers for class, and scan documents to be sent to his email. It’s also the quiet spaces, supportive staff, and the sense of community that make the library a perfect place for him to focus on his studies, he says.
"At the library, I can concentrate and get my assignments done on time," he says. “I mean, everything that the library offers has been very helpful to me.”
Mubashir is now pursuing a degree in Human Services at Highline College, after working in business in the past. When Mubashir took his first classes in Human Services, he knew he was in the right place.
“I was like, ‘Okay, this is me.’ I'm a people person, someone who wants to care for people,” he says. “So that's how I ended up sticking with the program and falling in love with Human Services.”
Looking forward to his career with a Human Services degree, Mubashir sees a bright future with a lot of opportunities.
“With a Human Services degree, there's a lot of different places I can go: in the education field, in human services, like working for the Department of Health and Human Services,” he says. “I mean, a lot of different places can use the expertise of human services, so I think that it will open more doors.”
By Ian Porter
Need help with a Canvas question or how to do that thing in Microsoft Word? The Highline College Library recently welcomed Abel Welde as a new Tech Tutor on staff to help with just these kinds of questions.
As part of the Digital Literacy team, Abel works with students to help them use digital tools and develop digital literacy skills. From using apps like Canvas, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs to navigating Windows and Mac operating systems and searching the internet, students can learn all kinds of things from Abel and the Digital Literacy team that will help them succeed in their academic work.
Kelly Aiken, Lead Tech Tutor and Digital Literacy team leader, saw a steady increase in requests for help, so he looked to hire an additional tech tutor to ensure all students were being served. Abel was already working in the Academic Success Center and was recommended by the ASC director, Sheena Hendrix.
“Sheena suggested Abel might be a good fit as a Tech Tutor, and as soon as I met him I knew she was right,” Aiken said. “The most important aspects of this job are not technical knowledge (though he has that), but friendliness and patience. Learning a new technology can be really intimidating. We are here to help!”
Abel jumped at the chance. “The tech tutor position stands out to me,” he said, “because it connects to my academic field and provides an opportunity to gain experience. As a Computer Science student, I like to help others through their technical challenges. This environment enables me to share knowledge while gaining experience and working with others which enhances my personal and professional development.”
A student at Highline College since 2023, Abel came to Highline for “a better education,” he said. “I chose Highline because of its diverse community, which makes it an inclusive and supportive place to learn and adapt to new experiences.”
Abel is currently pursuing an Associate degree in Computer Science at Highline and planning to become a full-stack developer, specializing in both front-end and back-end technologies. Ultimately, he “aspires to contribute to the digital world by developing user-friendly websites and impactful technology solutions,” he said.
Like many Highline College students, Abel has traveled far from home to be here. “Before coming to Highline, I lived in Ethiopia, where I completed high school at Cruise School,” he said.
In high school, he also built professional skills working in his family’s business. “I helped manage my family's small business, particularly in finance and operations.”
When asked about one thing that he thinks all Highline College students should know, Abel said that “Highline maintains a diverse and welcoming community which remains its most notable feature that students should know. Student clubs and activities provide students with the best opportunity to connect with others while building friendships and mastering college life.”
By Ian Porter
Free Speech Forum (January 28, 2025)
Reading for Cross-Disability Solidarity: Celebrating Neurodiversity Through Highline Reads & Disability Justice 2025 (February 19, 2025)
Faculty & Staff Monthly Book Club
Faculty and Staff Silent Reading Club (New Monthly Event!)
Contact us at refhelp@highline.edu to explore future possible collaborations with your campus department or organization.
Library staff at a campus outreach event.
"Lateral reading is a strategy for investigating who's behind an unfamiliar online source [and whether their facts, claims, and evidence are legitimate] by leaving the webpage and opening a new browser tab to see what trusted websites say about the unknown source [and its facts claims, and evidence]" (Stanford SHEG's COR curriculum). Lateral reading should be used to answer both of the following questions:
Q1: Who's behind the information (whether an individual author or a group or organization or AI)?
Q2: Are the facts, claims, and evidence provided by the source legitimate, reasonable, and/or plausible?
Learn more on the Navigating Online News and Information (NONI) guide.
Contact the Reference Librarians with your information literacy questions at refhelp@highline.edu or https://library.highline.edu/askalibrarian
Image generated by ChatGPT using prompt: "Create an image of a sleuth looking through a magnifying class at a browser window on a computer screen. Put it in a noir style."
The library has a new copy machine that features easy, full-color scanning! It has a document feeder so you can scan multiple documents at once, and features the ability to email the document to yourself or upload directly to your Google drive. You can find this new copy machine/scanner in the Information Commons along the wall under the "Print" sign and a librarian or tech tutor will be happy to assist you with any questions you might have.
If you aren't able to make it into the library or have an urgent need to make a scan quickly, you can also use your phone as a scanner using the Google Drive app (available for Android or iOS). Just download the Google Drive app, sign in, press the + button in the bottom right and select "Scan Document". Make sure to press Save when you're done, and the scanned document will automatically upload to your Google Drive.
For more digital literacy questions, contact Kelly Aiken at techtutor@highline.edu or https://digitalliteracy.highline.edu
In addition to the thousands of titles in our Highline Library collection, all Highline College students and employees have free and automatic access to the King County Library System (KCLS) Online Library.
Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou
For the first time, Maya describes the intense relationship she had with her mother. Through the years, no matter what happened, her mother supported and encouraged her. A riveting story of the healing and love that can evolve from the mother and daughter relationship.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
In the not-too-distant future, a group of government employees in the Ministry of Time help people from the past adjust to life in present day London.
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
The novelist’s poignant and beautifully written memoir about the loss of her husband, Tony Horwitz, author of historical fiction and a Pulitzer prize winning journalist for the Wall Street Journal. Brooks wrote about her grief during the time she spent on remote Flinders Island near Tasmania.
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
First published in 1999, Butler provides an unsettling vision of a possible American near-future, under an “ultra-conservative president who vows to ‘make America great again.’” (publisher description)
Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan
Engaging book about the true story of the Osage oil boom murders in 1920’s Oklahoma. Linda Hogan is a Chickasaw author who writes on Native American culture.
all about love by bell hooks
Bell offers new ways of examining the role of love in every aspect of our lives.
Nuclear War: a Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
Jacobson, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, gives a scenario in which the United States ends up in a nuclear war with first North Korea, then Russia. It’s based on many interviews with military and civilian experts who are the weapons makers and decision makers. It’s both grim and fascinating.
Playground: a Novel by Richard Powers
Like his book Overstory, there are four separate storylines that interweave by the end of the novel. The individual tales are engaging and centered around marine biology, the oceans, and environmental justice. (submitted for order for the library collection 2/5/25)
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel by Benjamin Stevenson
Set in Australia, a family reunion in a snowed-in resort leads to a few murders and a lot of suspects. The sequel, again set in Australia, is Everyone on this Train is a Suspect. Once more, there are some murders and a lot of suspects when a group of mystery writers get together for a writing festival held on, of course, a train.
Be Free Where You Are by Thich Nhat Hanh
Discussions of how mindfulness practice can cultivate freedom no matter where you are.
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
To me, this novel set in the 1930s in New York is about the deeper understand we gain through hindsight and time. We don’t always see clearly when we’re going through something, or perhaps we don’t want to admit the truth to ourselves.
Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit by Andrew Moore
Part ode to an unfairly neglected American fruit, part road trip adventure, this book details Moore’s quest to learn more about pawpaws (a native eastern American fruit said to taste like like a custardy blend of mango and banana), and to eat lots of delicious pawpaws along the way. You’ll want to eat pawpaws while reading this one.
Photo credit to librarian Hara Brook for capturing this play of light and shadows on the library 4th floor.
Do YOU have suggestions for future library newsletter content or interviews you'd like to read? Let us know at refhelp@highline.edu
Photo credit to librarian Hara Brook for this gorgeous photo of the Olympics, as seen from the Highline College Library.