About the author

I headed up my first excavation in 1990. Armed with nothing more than a tablespoon and a stubborn resolve, I set off barefooted into the Missouri summer determined to find buried treasure. All I found was a marble. To a five year old, however, that was the greatest discovery ever. I spent the better part of the summer tracking down its origin, (it had belonged to my uncle) and then I reported my findings to my grandma. I had no idea that my summers spent digging up my grandparents back yard would lead me to discover my passion. The marble, which I still have, is a constant reminder of my desire to explore and wonder about my world. It was that summer, without knowing what an Anthropologist was, that I set out to become one.

I won’t say that the road getting to this point was easy. It wasn’t. Over the course of my childhood, my family hopscotched from one state to the next. At times we were homeless, cold, and hungry. But we persevered and despite it all I grew up happy. Going to college to begin with was not something I had ever thought of. As a matter of fact, very few of my family members have ever even graduated high school. But off I went. The first time out I wasn’t prepared. After two years of struggling in a system I didn’t feel cut out for, I left. It would take me four years to step back up to the plate but once I did, there was no stopping me.

I graduated in 2012 with a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology from Washington State University. When I had started my college experience I had never even heard of the word Anthropology before. That knowledge came when I decided to try out an Archeology 101 course. From that point on I was hooked. It had taken me over 20 years of my life to find my place in the world, to realize that all the things I enjoyed most in life and in learning were linked to Anthropology. I knew within the first couple of days of that course that there was no turning back.

Now, here I am, a year after graduating with my degree and beginning the process of going onto a masters program. Am I a little scared and intimidated? Yes. This is uncharted territory for me and my family. I am the only person in my family to have ever received a Bachelors Degree. A Masters to us is a far off dream. But its a dream worth pursuing. I want to be able to show to others that I am serious about my pursuit of this field. I actively volunteer for groups within the discipline and am pursuing projects I can work on. What was once a little kids escape into the outdoors has turned into a full fledged passion. It is this passion that I am following into the next course of my life.


Rachel B.