About
I am currently under the mentorship of Phil DiBlasi and Dr. Fabian Crespo.
Research Interests: bioarchaeology, paleopathology, health and disease, ancestral skills and primitive technology, human adaptations
I received my Bachelors of Arts degree at University of Louisville in May of 2015, where I majored in anthropology and minored in political science and Russian studies. In 2012 I attended an 8 week Russian language summer-immersion program hosted by California State University, Northridge and presented by STARTALK - a component of the National Security Strategic Language Initiative. I received tremendous guidance and support from Dr. Patricia Condon in the Honor's Department and Professor Tom Dumstorf from the Russian Language program in the Classical and Modern Languages Department at University of Louisville. I received an Overseers Honors Award and a Modern Language Fund award to cover travel and food expenses. My participation in this particular program was a critical step for me to take at that time; I would go immediately from the end of that summer-immersion program to spend an academic year abroad as the recipient of a David L. Boren Scholarship to Russia for 2012-2013.
While studying Russian language, culture, and politics at St. Petersburg State University I volunteered at the Hermitage Museum. There I not only helped to translate several informational pamphlets from the Russian to English language and assist non-native Russian speakers in locating an exhibition, but I also received the opportunity to volunteer in the Archaeology Department. While in Russia I received a LIFT scholarship from the Council on International Educational Exchange that helped me utilize my time in the country by hiring a private Russian language tutor who I met with twice a week. The LIFT award also helped me to fund my relocation to Moscow at the end of the academic year to participate in the remainder of the STARTALK program, hosted in summer 2013 by Russian State University for the Humanities.
Since returning from Russia I have been able to focus primarily on anthropology and more specifically on archaeology. Under the guidance of Dr. Jonathan Haws I participated in excavations at Lapa do Picareiro in Portugal during the 2015 field season, and while there learned how to operate a total station. I am currently volunteering in the archaeology laboratory and learning various skills and laboratory techniques from Phil DiBlasi. As a first semester graduate student I am exploring my research interests but currently focusing on bioarchaeology. I have always been intrigued by bones and the stories they have to tell. This semester in ANTH 612 I am preparing a research proposal that is centered on the identification of malaria in ancient human skeletal remains and perhaps this assignment will prove to be a stepping stone towards the construction of a promising thesis. My favorite classes to date are Human Biological Diversity, Skeletal Forensics, and Lithics.
I am currently a member of Golden Key Honor Society, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Sigma Alpha Lambda, Sister Cities of Louisville, Lambda Alpha, Kentucky Academy of Sciences, and the Boren Forum. I served as President of the Russian Language and Culture Club from 2012-2014.
Fun Facts:
I love to go fishing and have gone every summer since I was a toddler.
I really enjoy conversations with elderly people and was a caregiver for several years between high school and college.
I collect foreign currency. Finding coins and bills no longer in circulation is the most exciting, and my favorite piece is a 10,000,000,000 dinara bill from the former country of Yugoslavia.