Anthropology

at Northern Kentucky University

Life after NKU: Trivia and News about Our Anthropology Graduates

Grad

The NKU Museum of Anthropology logo (the Mesoamerican Indian with the parrot) is a familiar sight to all NKU anthropology students. But do you know who designed the logo? The original design was created by an unknown Mesoamerican Indian as part of a stamp. Professor James F. Hopgood, the museum's Director, re-designed it into the museum logo. It was, however, James N. Gaulin, a 1979 winner of the Outstanding Student in Anthropology Award, who produced the large logo that still hangs in the museum. The logo may look and feel like stone, but Jim Gaulin used plywood with multiple layers of black paint. Jim was a double major in anthropology and art, but Jim Hopgood still had doubts that any artist could make plywood look like stone. For what seemed like weeks, Jim Gaulin worked in the Landrum anthropology lab, applying coats of black paint and then working the layers down with steel wool, only to apply more coats of paint and more steel wool. About fifty coats of black paint later, the logo had the look and feel of stone.

Other anthro majors from the 1970s include Frank Benedict who worked in southeast Asia for a couple of years before accepting a position in telecommunication design with Comsearch in Virginia. Tom Cheslock has continued to work for the nearby Florence Police Department. Nick Fritz works in the travel industry and divides his time between the USA and Holland. Tom Donnelly got his M.A. in applied anthropology from the University of Kentucky and is now an attorney with his own practice. As a lawyer and anthropologist, he has handled legal cases involving issues of American Indian religious freedoms. Tom served as the 1997-98 President of the NKU Alumni Association and as both the third and fifth President of the NKU Anthropology Alumni Club. He has taught both anthropology and law part-time at NKU. He has spoken at an NKU Anthropology Careers Day, and in 1992 he won the NKU Alumni Association's Special Recognition Award. In addition to practicing law, Tom has achieved a lifelong dream and become athletic director at Clark Montessori Junior/Senior High School. Like Tom, Rita Vanover also got her J.D. degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Greg Rust is the photographer for Xavier University, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cincinnati Bengals. Greg still pursues his Native American photography, especially among the Lakota Sioux. During the summer of 1998, Greg traveled to Minnesota to attend the Sun Dance to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the American Indian Movement (AIM). In 1999 he did ethno-photography in Nepal. Greg published a collection of his photos of Nicaragua in "Lessons from Another World" in the summer 1998 edition of the Magazine of Xavier University. In an attached note, Greg writes, "Just wanted to show how I've put my anthro degree to good use." He has spoken at our annual Anthropology Careers Day, and in 2000 the NKU Alumni Association presented Greg with the Professional Achievement Award. In 2002 he hosted another exhibit of his photos at XU, this one titled "Images from Nicaragua and Guatemala". In 2003 Greg spoke at NKU as part of the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Success Series. In 2005 Greg had yet another exhibit of his photos at XU, this time on Ghana.

From the 1980s, there is Patricia Cole (a.k.a. Patti Reed) who gave up a successful career in marketing research to pursue goals more related to her love of anthropology. Patti is now a park ranger in the San Francisco area and has spoken at our annual Anthropology Careers Day. (Remember when Patti as an NKU anthro student babysat Penelope the pregnant gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo?) Her specialty is the contemporary Native Americans of California. She and the other rangers present programs on California Indians to about 10,000 people a year. Patti's interest in evolution, which developed in her NKU physical anthropology class, has culminated in a recently published co-authored regional field guide on aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates. As a park ranger, Patti gets to do cultural anthropology, physical anthropology, archaeology, law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency medical work, and...well, just about everything. Max Colvin is one of many of our graduates who have applied jobs. He has a rewarding position with the Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Mental Retardation as a job coach for the mentally retarded. (Remember when Max decided to help Patti Cole babysit Penelope the pregnant gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo and got some rather disgusting stuff thrown at him by the gorilla?) Deborah Williamson (a.k.a. Debbie McKibben) gets to do work of an applied nature for Kentucky's Office of the Courts in Frankfort. She received her M.A. in anthropology from the University of Cincinnati and her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Kentucky. Debbie has spoken at our annual Anthropology Careers Day and was selected by the NKU Alumni Association as the 1995 NKU Outstanding Alumna. A recent news release reports that, "Deborah Williamson, Ph.D., represented the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) at the statewide Summit on Civic Literacy hosted in conjunction with the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Literacy at Northern Kentucky University October 5 [2004]. Williamson, who resides in Lawrenceburg, [Kentucky], serves as grant specialist for the AOC. The October summit, attended by nearly 200 educators and community leaders, kicked off a multi-year effort to examine the state of civic literacy among Kentucky youth. The summit was organized by a coalition consisting of Williamson; Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Erlanger; Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore; Secretary of State Trey Grayson; Natalie Stiligtz of the Kentucky Department of Education; representatives from Northern Kentucky University; and other state and national leaders. The Summit featured national civic experts Lee Hamilton, vice chair of the 9/11 Commission, and Ted McConnell, director of the Campaign to Promote Civic Education. Supreme Court Justice Donald Wintersheimer also was on the program as an advocate for civic education. Participants learned about current civic programs across the Commonwealth and received a preliminary assessment on the state of civic education in Kentucky. The program ended with a discussion on ways to increase long-term civic engagement so that young Kentuckians will actively take part in all areas of civic life. The Kentucky Summit was a direct result of the 2003 Annual Congressional Conference on Civic Education in Washington, D.C., where more than 300 delegates from across the country discussed civic involvement in the United States. The participants vowed to lead aggressive state campaigns to expand and improve civic education in the nation's schools. 'Kentucky is one of only five states to take any formal action since the 2003 national conference,' said Williamson, 'and is one of only three states to pass legislation. This makes Kentucky a leader in the national civics movement.' Williamson said the Kentucky delegation would return to the 2nd Congressional Conference in December to share its initial findings from this year's work. The Congressional Conference, which is scheduled to meet annually through 2007, receives bipartisan support from Congress. Its sponsors include the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Center for Civic Education and the Center on Congress at Indiana University. 'We are thrilled that so many Kentuckians have taken interest in civic education, engagement and literacy,' said Secretary of State Trey Grayson. 'The results of this Summit will allow us to present legislators with a path to improved civic participation among Kentucky's youngest citizens.' The Office of the Secretary of State will report on the results of the Summit and recommend further action to legislators before the start of the 2005 Kentucky General Assembly. The Administrative Office of the Courts is the operational arm of the Kentucky Court of Justice and supports the activities of more than 3,400 court system employees, including the elected offices of justices, judges and circuit court clerks. The AOC also executes the Judicial Branch budget." Debbie recently received a citation from the Kentucky House of Representatives for her contributions to the state's civic literacy project. Sandra Allee-Roszmann also works for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, in nearby Newport. She is a Family Services Clinician with the Department of Social Services in a position she describes as "a continuation of my anthropology major." Rose Pfaff still lives within walking distance of NKU and has run archaeology programs for junior high school students through the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington. Rose also served as the first President of the NKU Anthropology Alumni Club. Now she serves as an elected member of the City Council of Highland Heights, Kentucky. Lionel Reed, the second President of the NKU Anthropology Alumni Club, is a factory foreman at Plymouth Steel in nearby Florence and credits anthropology for his abilities to manage people. He finds time to do some archaeology and has worked with Rose. Mark Jacobs, Class of 1984, has gone the environmental career route and for awhile was in wildlife conservation with the International Center for the Preservation of Wild Animals. Mark now runs Wildlife Conservation of Kentucky, Inc. and owns Split Rock Conservation Park which runs environmental and archaeological programs in nearby Boone County, Kentucky. In 2005 Mark was featured in the NKU Alumni magazine, Northern. Linda Cohorn, the fourth President of the NKU Anthropology Alumni Club, founded her own travel agency. (This must have been destiny--remember when Lin, as a student, used to do things like fly to Yucatan for the weekend?) One of Lin's specialties was organizing educational trips to foreign countries and archaeological sites. Now Lin works for Sacred Heart Radio in Cincinnati. Kimber Griffin Fender went on to get her master's in library science and was recently appointed Director of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Kim is the first woman and the youngest person ever to serve as the library's director. She is the editor of a book, Tristate Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books: Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. In 1999 she was one of the winners of the NKU Alumni Association's Professional Achievement Award. Jeannine Kreinbrink and Rose Kluth (a.k.a. Rose Drees) are both professional archaeologists with archaeological publications, and both have spoken at NKU Anthropology Careers Days. Jeannine got her M.A. in anthropology from the University of Cincinnati and now does some part-time teaching at NKU. Most recently she supervised the archaeology of a log slave pen that is the centerpiece for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. She was recently featured in Smithsonian Magazine for her work on the Battery Hooper Civil War site in northern Kentucky. Jeannine is also the 2005 winner of the NKU Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award and a past president of the Central Ohio Valley Archaeological Society (COVAS). Rose got her M.A. degree in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin. Before serving as tribal archaeologist for the Leech Lake Chippewa, Rose fulfilled her life-long dream of digging in Pakistan's Indus Valley. In 1999 she was one of the winners of the NKU Alumni Association's Professional Achievement Award. Gary Perkins is a contract archaeologist here in the tri-state. Richard Coleman is also an archaeologist and works out west. He got his M.A. degree in anthropology from Eastern New Mexico University and now lives in Durango, Colorado with his wife and children. He has spoken to NKU students about careers in anthropology. Richard has many friends among the Indians of New Mexico's Jemez Pueblo and has even been invited to participate in Pueblo ceremonies. He also has many Navajo friends and great connections for buying Navajo blankets at inexpensive prices. Richard's sister, Mary Coleman Kerley, also an NKU anthropology grad, lives in nearby Covington and has a career in legal research. Tanya Lynn Bartlett is an attorney living in nearby Fort Thomas. After NKU, Doug Shields went to the American University in Cairo, Egypt before going on to get his M.D. He is now an emergency medicine physician in North Carolina. He also grows thousands of Christmas trees on his farm. With a double major in anthropology and nursing, it's no surprise that Susan Spencer Parker is a registered nurse at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital. Dan Farrell is a police officer with the Covington Police Force. Kathryn Ridiman (a.k.a. Kathi Miller) lives in the historic district of nearby Newport and is a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom who home schools her children. According to Kathi, she uses her anthropology everyday. Kathi ("Kas") writes that "our family blog has been selected by AOL as Editor's 'Pick of the Week' for the second time in two years. Considering how many thousands of blogs there are on AOL it is an honor." You can check out what an anthropology alum does while homeschooling by going to http://journals.aol.com/hestiahomeschool/HomeschoolingJournal/entries/5196.Grad

From the 1990s, right after graduation Robin Pelfrey worked for Averitt Express, in nearby Boone County, where she received an award for her outstanding work. More recently, Robin graduated from Eastern Kentucky University's nursing program as an RN with a BSN and was hired to work at the University of Kentucky's medical center on their trauma unit. She have since left UK Hospital and have moved back to Northern Kentucky. She now works at St. Luke East in Telemetry with cardiac patients. Robin writes, "Believe me, I still use my anthropology skills even today." Her granddaughter is now 5 years old and she is getting ready to have a grandson in January.

Another of our NKU anthropology alums is off to grad school!  Ashlee Hummeldorf Buback has just started grad school at Clarion University of Pennsylvania to get her Masters in Library Science, focusing on small and rural libraries.  It's online, so she's still here in the area working for the Kenton County Public Library system.

Julie Pelle is finishing up her graduate degree in applied anthropology at the University of South Florida, and Christina Kelly is finishing hers in archaeology at the University of Montana. Julie recently completed an environmental research project in Cincinnati, Ohio for the Society for Applied Anthropology. During the summer of 1998, Christina did an archaeological survey near Dinosaur National Monument in Vernal, Utah. She also recently got to excavate at a Mandan Indian site in North Dakota. Like Jennifer DeBerry, Christina will soon complete her MA degree at the University of Montana. Alsace Rodgers is completing her doctorate in educational foundations at the University of Cincinnati and has taught some undergraduate course there. The fall of 2001 found her teaching Introduction to African American Studies at NKU. Robin Martin-Holmes has continued in her job as a flight attendant for American Airlines, but now she home bases out of Louisiana where her husband has a position as a business professor. (Remember when Robin did an independent study on the Indians of the southwest and made half a dozen trips that semester to Arizona and New Mexico--must be nice to have free airfare!) Robin, her husband, and children are exploring Cajun culture and, like good anthropologists, are busy learning to speak the native language, French. Wood Meade has also continued in aviation, working at Cincinnati's Lunken Airport. In addition, he spends his time volunteering in the identification of sites for the Kentucky State Office of Archaeology. Jo Ann Delaney works for the Great American Life Insurance Company in Cincinnati and is pursuing an M.B.A. at Xavier University. Joel Pare is working on her master's in education at the University of Cincinnati with a goal of teaching English as a foreign language. She writes that "my background in anthropology has helped prepare me for my future career." Jeff Perry is in sales with Franklin's Printing in Cincinnati and keeps up his interest in anthropology. Josh Hankins is a banker with Cincinnati's Fifth Third Bank. Mary Leising works for Cincinnati's Professional Management Services. Elizabeth Villing works for the city of Cincinnati but maintains her interest in physical anthropology by attending the annual Mountain, Swamp, and Beach Forensic Anthropology Conference. She plans to begin graduate work in forensic anthropology in the fall of 2005. Recently Elizabeth got to meet and have dinner with famed forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow. Paul Zloba is a contract archaeologist here in the tri-state, as is Angela Wallingford. Carly Meyer, a 1996 anthropology alum, has worked with the archaeology company, Gray and Pape, in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine since graduating. She started out as a field technician, became a lab assistant, and then moved on to the graphics department. Carly is now a mapping specialist with Gray and Pape. Jake Stewart has also worked in archaeology in Cincinnati and is now attending Hocking College in Ohio to obtain a Level II federal law enforcement commission. He then plans to combine that with his anthropology background and pursue a position with either the National Park Service or U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Kathy Cahill teaches special needs children in the Cincinnati Public Schools. Bridget Bailey Williams has gone the environmental careers route in Kentucky and has a position with River Fields in Louisville. After working for a year as a contract archaeologist in Pittsburg, Tony Willoughby plans to return to NKU to pursue a career in education as a science teacher. One of our 1998 graduates, Michele Carper-Ruby, answered an ad for a social worker who majored in anthropology and worked for a year at the Brighton Center in nearby Newport. Michele double majored in anthro and social work. Recently she began studies at NKU's Chase College of Law with a Commonwealth Scholarship that will pay all her law school tuition. Another of our 1998 graduates, Dana Hildebrand, lives with her family in Rising Sun, Indiana and has conducted applied ethnographic research at a nursing home. In the past she also has done some substitute teaching in the Rising Sun public schools. Recently she got to visit the prehistoric site of Cahokia. After graduating from NKU Dana went on to get her AAS degree in computers from Ivy Tech in Indiana. She is now teaching mostly technology and nursing students at the National College of Business and Technology in nearly Florence, Kentucky. Recently she was named chair of the computer sciences department there. Dana writes, "It's a small school, but, oh, the opportunities! Though anthropology is not offered, I am the critical thinking teacher (among other subjects) and I'm MAKING SURE that they get a healthy dose of anthropological tenet as it relates to uncovering prejudicial thinking and unearthing ingrained, and blindly accepted stereotypes. Nothing thrills me more than to hear my students say that they've had an epiphany regarding how they 'never even realized I thought that way.' I do love my job." Dana says that anthropology is "still my way of life." One of our 1999 graduates, Ann Kleemeier, is working here in Campbell County with juvenile services as a court designated worker. Ann describes the job as "one of the most interesting that I'll ever have." She takes complaints about juveniles from law enforcement, school officials, and the public. Depending upon the juvenile's record, Ann can either send the individual to court or put them on "diversion," which can include education, community service, or counseling. Another 1999 anthro graduate, and NKU women's basketball star, Kristine Kamrath, is currently working as an aide for children with special needs in Waukesha, Wisconsin before heading back to school to get her special education certification. Kris writes, "With my anthro degree I got the chance to work at Crow Canyon Archaeology Center in Cortez, Colorado for a summer, and it was amazing. I then worked for the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin teaching archaeology and environmental education to grade school children at Camp Whitcomb/Mason for the last three years."Grad

One of our year 2000 graduates, Matt Robinson, has been busy doing graduate work at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Matt had a graduate assistantship for his first year at UWM that paid for all his tuition plus a small salary on which to live, for a total benefit of more than $25,000. The summers of 2001 and 2002 found Matt in the west African, French-speaking country of Senegal working on his M.A. thesis. All those years of taking Spanish, and then Matt goes to a French-speaking country. Matt also has worked with the research and evaluation firm of Jill Florence Lackey & Associates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Currently, Matt is a full-time, non-tenure track anthropology professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Another 2000 grad, Belinda Williams, is doing contract archaeology, and Ed Wilcox is developing plans for a survival school. Jessica Enderle is employed by NKU's own Office of Admissions as a counselor, and when she leads tours of new students around the university, she always stops in at the NKU Museum of Anthropology. She is now the assistant director of admissions at NKU. After a trip to Italy, Carrie Haubner worked for the Berlitz International Language Center in Cincinnati. In 2003 Carrie delivered a research paper at the annual meetings of Anthropologists and Sociologists of Kentucky (ASK). Kristina Wegener Gonzalez, also a 2000 grad, moved to San Antonio, Texas preparing for a job overseas with the U.S. Army and Air Force Exchange Service. She met her future husband there, and now they live in Japan. Kristi writes, "We currently live in Okinawa, Japan, known for the longetivity of their people. Although I don't use anthropology in my professional life, what I learned is invaluable when living in a foreign country. I love computers so I currently manage the internet cafes on all the [American military] bases out here, and while its not anthropology, I am now getting my MBA." Anna Dwertman is finishing up at the Cincinnati Police Academy where she ranks high in her class. Robyn Scott is another alum who has gone the environmental route, as an environmental technician. She writes that "I'm currently living in Maryland and working in Washington, DC monitoring an environmental air sampling network . It is an amazing opportunity and a fulfilling occupation." She is employed by the Arcadis company. A 2001 grad, Christopher Young, is attending grad school at the University of Wyoming, after a summer of doing archaeology with BHE in Cincinnati. Christopher writes, "I'm still working on my dissertation (high altitude paleoindian adaptations in Middle Park, Colorado). This summer will be our last field season at the Folsom campsite called Barger Gulch, Locality B (Colorado) which is under the direction of Dr. Todd Surovell and Dr. Nicole Waguespack. It's a really neat site not only for all of the Folsom diagnostics and the presence of structures (we think), but also because they were overwintering on a high ridge (6500-7000ft) in a really cold, windy, nasty basin in the Rocky Mountians. Later in the summer I will be surface collecting and testing another high altitude Folsom campsite called Barger Gulch, Locality C. Next year I will be teaching the Intro to Archaeology courses here at UW. I also work full-time for the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. Officially my job title is 'Archaeologist', but mostly I work with our GIS and relational databases." Christopher's brother, Todd Young, also an NKU Anthro alum is now the Park Naturalist at Big Bone Lick State Park in nearby Boone County. You've just got to love a job where one of your duties is to develop a spear-throwing range. Ah, the thrill of doing public prehistory! Another recent grad, Rachel G. Nelson, also is doing archaeology, with a firm based in Pennsylvania. After working in contract archaeology, Amy Duffy Favret (a.k.a. Amy Howard) is finishing up her MA degree at Ball State University in Indiana with graduation in May 2005. She has already done a few presentations on her thesis "The Bioarchaeology of Children's Health in Antebellum Kentucky: Old Frankfort Cemetery" and is presenting a preliminary report as a poster at the 2005 American Association of Physical Anthropologists meetings in Milwaukee. Amy is currently applying to PhD programs. A 2001 grad, Robyn O. Granger, has accepted a position as an organizer with the Contact Center-Ohio Empowerment Coalition in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Robyn writes, "If anyone asks, these are the things that can be achieved with an anthropology degree." A 2002 grad, Melanie Jones-Gant, has been pursuing her Master's in public administration at NKU. Shortly, she will begin work as the City Clerk for the City of Crescent Springs, Kentucky. A 2003 grad and sixth President of the NKU Anthropology Alumni Club, Eric Bates, did graduate work in cultural geography at Miami University in Ohio, complete with scholarship benefits in excess of $50,000. He now is on the staff at nearby Community Pentecostal Church and works as an administrator for Tommy Bates Ministries. He and his bride Erin live in Independence, Kentucky and are expecting their first child. In 2006 Eric received the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree from NKU, writing his thesis on "Native American Identity, Christianity, and Critical Contextualization" under the direction of Dr. Sharlotte Neely. In the fall of 2007 Eric will begin teaching anthropology part-time at NKU. Another 2003 grad, Natialie Goforth-Eilers, has accepted a position as a counselor advocate for the area Women's Crisis Center. A 2001 alum of NKU Anthropology and grad student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Patricia Wolford writes, "I'm happy to tell you that as of January 2007 I have completed my Masters in Medical Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University and passed the exam for my RN license as I proceed in the Doctorate of Nursing Practice program at Case on my way to becoming a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner. In addition a local hospital that I interviewed with last week got back with me and offered me a RN position, which I accepted and start orientation on Monday. And just to keep it interesting, along with being the co-leader of my daughter's Girl Scout troop, I joined the crew team last fall, have trained all winter, and our first spring regatta is this Saturday." Saradan Kemplin is currently living in Texas working for Continental Airlines and has decided to go to graduate school. She's in the process of doing applications. Jennifer Stansbury, Class of 2001, graduated from NKU as a double major in anthropology and psychology. Jennifer writes that, "Since I graduated, I ended up teaching high school dropouts to help them get their GED's and decided to go back to NKU for my MPA degree. I completed the MPA this past May [2004], along with certification in Non-profit Management. In June I started working with the President and CEO of WCET-TV [in Cincinnati]." Kesse Hodge, a double major in applied cultural studies and French at NKU, graduated in December 2003. Kesse writes that, "I'm currently attending DePaul University in Chicago and am working on my master's in International Studies. I'm also working as a student employee at the Alumni Information Systems and Services department at DePaul. I'm learning more about the practical applications of all the data management skills I learned as part of my ACS major." Another Class of 2003 person, anthropology alumna Cassandra Childers, and Matthew Haney (a former anthropology major at NKU) were married on September 19th, 2004 at Grayson Lake, Kentucky. Cassandra now works for the Bank of Kentucky. Sarah Turner, also of the Class of 2003, is an accountant at Great American Insurance Company. Christine Bowles, Class of 2005, spent six weeks in Europe before grad school. Don Miller, Class of 2005, has yet another publication, in a book in which he is a co-author of a chapter. The book is entitled The Emergence of the Moundbuilders: The Archeology of Tribal Societies in Southeastern Ohio, and the chapter is entitled "The Allen Site: A Late Prehistoric Community in the Hocking Valley." This book is a volume comprised of contributed papers concerning the Woodland and Late Prehistoric periods of the Hocking Valley of southeastern Ohio. The book's chapters illustrate the theme of the development of tribal societies in the valley as people abandoned hunting and gathering for a new lifestyle of sedentary horticulturalists. It is available through the Ohio University Press and Swallow Press. Don has another article just published on the development of the bow and arrow in Ohio in the journal, Ohio Archaeology. In addition to his publications and professional papers, Don has organized the archeological research conducted at Split Rock Conservation Park in nearby Boone County, Kentucky for the last three years. Efforts have been a collaboration between Don and NKU Anthropology alumnus Mark Jacobs, who owns Split Rock. All of the "props" at the Late Prehistoric village at Split Rock are a result of Don's research into Fort Ancient sites in the Bluegrass. Don and Mark conducted a survey at the location of the prehistoric house before building the frame which is an exact copy off the post hole pattern from the Muir site in the Inner Bluegrass. A 2004 grad, Evan Springer, has been accepted into the Peace Corps with the prospect of service in East Timor in southeast Asia. Recent grad Rebecca Campbell writes that, "As for an update on my life, my husband, dog and I are trying to settle into our new home in Wilmington, NC (650 miles from NKU). It's different and new; it's challenging and exciting all wrapped into a fantastic life experience for us....We're ten minutes from the beach, so we really take advantage of that! There is more cultural diversity out here than in northern Kentucky; so I have been learning more than my naivety allowed me before. I have decided that a study of coastal fishermen would be an incredibly interesting and exciting pursuit to undertake...." 2003 grad Autumn E. Bennett joined NKU Professor Michael Simonton's summer 2005 class to Ireland. 2005 grad Emily Powers Dean joined NKU Professor Judy Voelker's summer 2005 research trip to Thailand. Sylvia and Asa Helm married, and Sylvia attended grad school at the College of William and Mary. Melony Stambaugh, Class of 2006 from NKU Anthropology, has been awarded a Taft-Niehoff Graduate Student Community Assistantship for 2007-2008 at the University of Cincinnati where she is pursuing her Master's degree in anthropology. She will continue her collaboration with the Niehoff Studio in an ethnographic research project working with urban planning. In April of 2007 Melony delivered a paper, "Moccasins, Feathers, and Drums: An Ethnographic Study of a Modern American Indian Powwow" at the Central States Anthropological Society Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. Jennifer D. Stansbury-Koenig has a BA in anthro from NKU and an MPA from NKU. As the Associate Director of the Curriculum, Accreditation & Assessment Office at NKU and with an MPA degree, she is a great example of a practicing anthropologist.

The Bahamas, Canada, Congo, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Germany, Guatemala, Holland, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Scotland, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, and Trinidad are just a few of the foreign countries in which our NKU anthropology alumni have lived and worked. Our latest data show that within the United States most of our alums live in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, but multiple numbers of our grads also live in California, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Additional individual alumni live in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wyoming, and American Samoa.

What do all these anthropology grads do for a living? Well, some are or have been in graduate school, with graduate degrees ranging from the MA to the MALS, MPA, MBA, JD, MD, and PhD. Among the graduate schools NKU anthropology alumni have attended are the American University of Cairo, Ball State University, Case Western Reserve University, the College of William and Mary, Eastern New Mexico University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Cincinnati, University of Hawaii, University of Kentucky, University of Montana, University of South Florida, University of Wisconsin at Madison, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, University of Wyoming, Xavier University, Florida Atlantic University, Miami University, and the Union Institute and University, and many more. Most of the others either work in archaeology or applied anthropology (including environmental fields). The third largest group of NKU anthropology grads work in law enforcement or some area of the legal system (police officers, attorneys, court workers, crime scene investigators, etc.). The "other" category includes teachers (everything from survival school instructor to special needs children teacher to home schoolers to community college and university professors to a high school athletic director), the health fields (at least one physician, three nurses, and one emergency medical technician), and careers in art, photography, travel, aviation, computer science, business, banking, politics, and farming. We also have a flight attendant, a librarian, a park ranger, a factory foreman, a missionary, a couple of stay-at-home moms, and a few writers. What are you up to with your anthropology degree?

You are important to us. Share some memories at the NKU Anthropology Photo Album. And let us know what you are doing by writing us or by contacting Douglas Hume (email). If you have not received a mailing from us recently or if you have moved, chances are we no longer have a current mailing address for you. If this is the case, let us know how to reach you. Remember, whether you live within walking distance of NKU or halfway around the world, you will always be a part of the NKU Anthropology family, and we miss you. So drop us a line.