Featured student and recent UWSP graduate: Robert Doerr

We have a special student feature this month - Robert Doerr has been volunteering his time to work on a special project in our Periodicals Department. The Library is grateful for all of the work he has done and we're happy to have him profiled here and talk about the project he has been working on and his future plans since he recently graduated. 


As a not so side note, which he did not mention below, Robert has a short film that was selected as one of the "Shorts" and will be screened in November at the Central Wisconsin Film Festival. 

Name: Robert Doerr
Hometown: Eagle River, WI
Degree: B.A. in Music with a minor in Communication

Highlight of volunteering in the Library: I’ve been exposed to many fascinating resources in my work at the University Library. I've come across many unusual and unique publications while working on the library’s microfilm collection, and seeing books and magazines that are hundreds of years old has been a real highlight of my work in the Archive’s rare books collection. I would highly recommend that students check out both of these collections – there are so many interesting things to be discovered! 

What is your favorite cuisine? Lately I’ve taken a liking to East Asian and Southeast Asian food from countries such as Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand. I’ve found that recipes from these regions often have really distinct flavors and are exceptionally spicy (if you’re like me, more heat is always a good thing).

Where is the last place you traveled? At the end of August, I took a trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan. It’s one of my favorite places anywhere, with rugged forests and the beautiful Lake Superior coast, and you can literally see the history of the area’s copper mining days everywhere you go. I can’t wait for the next chance to go back and visit again!

Who are your favorite writers? I read a lot of fiction when I was growing up, and Ray Bradbury is a writer whose novels stick out in my mind. Much of his prose has an almost cinematic flair about it, especially in books such as “Something Wicked This Way Comes” and “Fahrenheit 451.” I do quite a bit of nonfiction reading now, particularly on the subjects of technology, psychology, and history, and I have been influenced greatly by writers such as Nicholas Carr and Sherry Turkle who question our current relationships with technology.

What are your future plans? I hope to enter the film industry, so right now I am exploring possible avenues that I could take in the near future. In particular, I’m very interested in the art and craft of photochemical filmmaking (i.e. shooting/editing/projecting films using analog film), so I am hoping to get training related to those sets of skills.

What is your motto? “Do the best job that you possibly can at everything” best sums up my attitude towards work and life.