During my second year of college, while I was still trying to figure out what subject I wanted to major in, I took my first Anthropology class titled “The Rise and Fall of Prehistoric Civilizations.” This was my first introduction to the field of archaeology, and the research that my professor was conducting sounded incredibly interesting. After the first week of class, I reached out to my professor to ask if she had any research I could help her with. She had me start working in her archaeological lab on her research in Mexico. After a couple of months of helping her with this, she invited me to do archaeological fieldwork with her in Teotihuacan.
This taught me many things: how personal networking opens doors to new opportunities, how to apply for research grants to fund these experiences, and that I love archaeology! In Teotihuacan, I got to interact with ceramic figurines that were over 3,000 years old, climb the Pyramid of the Sun, and hot air balloon over the ancient city. I also made valuable connections with established archaeologists that would end up helping me in the future.
After my experience in Mexico, I decided to focus my studies on archaeology. That same professor would often talk about one specific student of hers that had graduated a few years before me named Sarah, who was at the time pursuing her Ph.D. in Archaeology. Fast-forward to three years later. I had graduated from college and had applied to do my Master's degree in England, and guess who randomly followed my research Instagram page? Sarah! I thought this was a crazy coincidence (because she definitely didn’t know about me, and had just found my page randomly), so I sent her a message and asked if we could talk on the phone about the research she was doing.
