Born in 1970, Jeffrey Hiroshi Gima lived for most of his childhood in Los Alamitos, California. In 1993, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Reed College (Portland, Oregon) with a B.A. in physics. He wanted, however, to involve himself in work with a greater diversity of human interaction, something which would provide a more tangible form of public service. By the end of 1993, he was a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching math at a rural high school in Zimbabwe. There, he helped to develop a small library for the school; he enjoyed the project so much that when he returned to the United States in 1997, he began to think about a career in librarianship. He worked at the reference desk of a public library, enjoyed it immensely, and decided to pursue his master's degree in library science.
Gima has just began the library science program at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He is exploring the possibilities of reference work in either a public or academic library and is hoping to involve some aspect of international librarianship in his work as an information provider.
Currently, Gima is working part-time as a research assistant to the University Librarian and volunteering at the Champaign Public Library. During his rapidly vanishing spare time, he enjoys listening to African and Latin American music and playing his guitar and mbira.
Source: California Library Association Newsletter, October, 1998.
