Alumni Spotlights

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“Get involved in activities that enrich your passion and that will enable you to stand above the competition.”

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Erin graduated with an M.A. in Anthropology with a focus in archaeology.

What is your current job/position?
Serving as Senior Archaeologist, Principal Investigator at Terracon Consultants, Inc., I oversee the archaeological field and laboratory operations of our Cultural Resource Management/NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) group. I am also responsible for trainings, mentoring, supervising, and review of reports for our offices nationwide.

What professional activities have you embarked upon since graduation from the anthropology program at GSU?

Since graduation, I organized a volunteer and student archaeology program in conjunction with the Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association to look for Fort Cumming, a former U.S. Army fortification used to incarcerate Cherokee people prior to their removal to Oklahoma. Georgia State Anthropology students participated in the archaeological fieldwork for this project in Lafayette, Georgia and the project was funded by the National Park Service.

Branching out into cultural anthropology, I worked for the International Rescue Committee as a Resettlement Specialist for refugees and gained social service experience for a couple of years. An opportunity then presented itself to me through one of my former GSU classmates; through this network, I worked as a Clinical Case Manager for Pathways Transition Programs (a private counseling firm) with low income families and foster children. Out of this experience, I then worked as a Case Manager for Decatur Cooperative Ministry helping U.S. veterans and their families facing homelessness develop skills for self-sufficiency. At this time, I served as a co-committee chair for Unsheltered No More, the Atlanta Mayor’s Office initiative to end veteran homelessness by 2015.

Recently, I decided to return to my favorite field of anthropology: archaeology. In March of this year, I was recruited by a former employer to become the Senior Archaeologist at Terracon Consultants, Inc. and look forward to the adventures of this new chapter.

Since 2009, I have maintained my membership to the Society for Georgia Archaeology (SGA) and Society for American Archaeology; for the former, I volunteer with the Blue Ridge Archaeology Chapter performing archaeological fieldwork and public archaeology education. In coordination with Dr. Jack Wynn of the University of North Georgia, I recently organized a mini-field school for new employees at Terracon’s Duluth office at the Duckett Site for training and continuing education purposes. I also deliver guest lectures for various SGA chapters and other local history organizations.

What courses in anthropology at GSU or extracurricular activities enhanced your ability to qualify for your current job/position?

Material Culture, Qualitative Methods in Anthropology, Theory and Anthropology, Archaeological Methods, Archaeological Theory, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) equipped me with knowledge pertinent to my current position. Participation in archaeological field work abroad in Mexico and presentations at conferences in the U.S. provided me the opportunities to distinguish my resume from other candidates applying for the same position.

Do you have any advice for prospective students interested in anthropology at GSU?

Get to know your fellow graduate students since they will become your professional network when you complete your studies. Get involved in activities that enrich your passion and that will enable you to stand above the competition. Take time to get to know your professors and keep in touch with them. In addition to being wonderful people, they are encyclopedias of knowledge and experience. Take advantage of study abroad opportunities or other chances to deepen your world view and challenge common ethnocentric perspectives. Never be afraid to try something new.

Chika Oduah received her B.A. in Anthropology from GSU. We were fortunate to have had her return to campus and speak to Dr. Cassandra White’s Senior Seminar students about how her work as a journalist, continues to be informed by her anthropology background.

Chika was the winner of the Trust Women 2014 – Journalist Award (click HERE for YouTube video about her award) an international journalism award sponsored by Reuters for her reporting on the Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Congratulations, Chika!!

In October 2015, The Huffington Post featured Chika and her work. Great stuff Chika!

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“The possibilities of what you do with your degree and how you apply it are limitless.”

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Alicia graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology.

What is your current job/position?
I am the founder of a 501 (c)3 non-profit called Pea Pod Nutrition and Lactation Support which provides nutrition and lactation education and support to low-income women and children.

What professional activities have you embarked upon since graduation from the anthropology program at GSU?

I am now a registered dietitian (R.D.) with a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and I recently sat for the International Board of Certified Lactation Consultant’s (IBCLC) exam. Culture’s impact on public health continues to be a passion of mine and I am actively working on research projects to explore this subject further.

What courses in anthropology at GSU or extracurricular activities enhanced your ability to qualify for your current job/position?
I was introduced to the diverse world of Anthropology through the Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course. This was the course that, ultimately, made me decide that I wanted to dive deep into Anthropology and make it my major. In addition to Cultural Anthropology, Health and Culture made an indelible impression on me. That class shaped my love for public health and showed me that I could marry my three passions of nutrition, public health and anthropology and create a career that embraced all three fields of study which is what led me to found my non-profit, Pea Pod Nutrition and Lactation Support.

Do you have any advice for prospective students interested in anthropology at GSU?
Anthropology is a unique major, in that, the possibilities of what you do with your degree and how you apply it are limitless. Anthropologists are journalist, physicians, midwives, professors, forensic specialist, nutritionist, museum curators, park rangers, psychologist, social workers and the list goes on and on. The staff and faculty in GSU’s Anthropology department are true advocates for your education and your career beyond graduation from Georgia State and can help expose you to diverse world of Anthropology and where it can take you.

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“Do not be discouraged. Anthropologists do have jobs, and meaningful ones!”

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Cheryl completed an M.A. in (medical) anthropology.

What is your current job/position?
I am a public health consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO), in the HIV Department particularly in Key Populations and Innovative Prevention. My work focuses on HIV testing services and emerging work on HIV self-testing.

What professional activities have you embarked upon since graduation from the anthropology program at GSU?
After graduation from the anthropology program, I completed a Certificate in Public Health and worked as a graduate research assistant at GSU. As a graduate research assistant I was able to work on many Atlanta-based community and public health projects and in community geography with local partner organizations.

I went on to work for the U.S.  Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) and then to work as the Country Operational Planning Manager and HIV testing and prevention specialist for USAID Namibia.
Since joining WHO 2.5 years ago, I have been involved in the development and roll-out of various guidance documents, including the new consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services. I am also the WHO-lead for the UNITAID/PSI Self-Testing for Africa (STAR) Project, the largest study on HIV self-testing to date. As part of this project and many others, I am working with various stakeholders to develop evidence on HIV self-testing and then synthesizing that evidence to inform the development of normative and implementation guidance.
I also work in partnership with countries, programmes and NGOs to provide technical assistance on HIV testing services. For instance, in partnership with the Brocher Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières‎ and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, I am coordinating a meeting to address the ethical, legal, public health and human rights implications of misdiagnosis of HIV status.

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Click HERE to see Cheryl presenting at the 8th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) held at the Vancouver Convention Centre on 19-22 July 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

For those interested in more information on HIV self-testing, please visit HIVST.org, an online center for public health research, documentation, and policies regarding HIV self-testing.

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What courses in anthropology at GSU, field schools, internships or extracurricular activities enhanced your ability to qualify for your current job/position?

I think the Anthropological Praxis course and Qualitative Geographic Methods influenced me the most, and classes in Anthropology and Epidemiology and Health and Culture showed me how to merge my work with public health.
The courses I took through the library helped me a lot as well. I took courses in Excel, Nvivo, SAS, SPSS, as well as a technical writing course. (This was very useful, as I was an awful writer when I started graduate school.) I also learned a lot by working across departments and being a graduate research assistant. I got so much experience and support from my supervisors, as well as tremendous opportunities to work with colleagues with different backgrounds and skillsets.
Most importantly, working with community-based organizations in Atlanta influenced me immensely. I am forever indebted to all the individuals and organizations who gave me the opportunity to work with them as a student.

Do you have any advice for prospective students interested in anthropology at GSU?

The autonomy and freedom available at GSU is a very good thing. I learned a lot at GSU and valued the freedom to try lots of different things while I was a student. At the time the freedom made me nervous because I wanted a more linear path, but I gained so much more through the diversity of courses and experiences I obtained at GSU.
GSU Anthropology offers many great opportunities to apply your degree outside an academic setting. There are lots of opportunities to collaborate with other departments, across disciples and to work with a variety of individuals, communities and organizations. Students should seriously consider these.
Lastly, I would say do not be discouraged. Anthropologists do have jobs, and meaningful ones! I was asked so many times “what are you going to do with that degree?” and was told so many times “you won’t find a job after school”. In my experience, having a background as an anthropologist within public health has helped me stand out in the job market. While working in Namibia, the Chief of Party of an implementing organization commented that my background in anthropology made me “different” than other consultants—in a good way; and she specifically appreciated my anthropological training to listen, observe, engage in a participatory process and collectively formulate recommendations. At WHO, this training comes in handy every single day, and I am grateful for all that I have learned.

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“Students should take every opportunity to demonstrate their work ethic and eagerness to contribute value to any group they find themselves a part of.”

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What is your current job/position?

My job title is Epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, Epidemiology Research Program.

What professional activities have you embarked upon since graduation from the anthropology program at GSU?

After completing my M.A. in anthropology in 2006, I worked as a young adult substance abuse counselor until returning to GSU in 2008 to complete a Master’s in Public Health with an emphasis on biostatistics and epidemiology. From 2009-2010 I worked at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health for a program evaluating the effects of social support on smoking cessation. In 2010 I began my current position as an epidemiologist and statistical programmer at the American Cancer Society. My work here initially focused on tobacco use and in 2013 I co-authored a New England Journal of Medicine research article examining the mortality risks over past 50-years of the American cigarette epidemic. Because of this project I have become closely involved in collaborations with the Office of Smoking and Health at CDC and a large consortial effort to understand the relationship between smoking and breast cancer. In addition to my ongoing tobacco research I have recently begun working with our Director of Genetic Epidemiology to better utilize our extensive biospecimen data. Going forward I am very excited to begin analyzing gene-environment interactions and cancer risk in our cohort studies.

What courses in anthropology at GSU or extracurricular activities enhanced your ability to qualify for your current job/position?

Most germane to my current position as a data analyst was my intense work in all of the biological anthropology courses. These were full of great opportunities and provided me with many of the quantitative skills that have served as a foundation in my work today. But perhaps more important was that these courses gave me a very solid introduction to the scientific process: how to ask a question, how to creatively investigate the question, and the importance of remaining critical when interpreting my results. More generally, I think that one of the most valuable assets of my degree is the ability to discriminate high-quality information and then distill and communicate this knowledge to an audience. These skills were emphasized and honed in every anthropology class through years of presentations, classroom discussions, and long research papers. Over time my appreciation has only grown for how flexible and applicable that experience is for my professional successes.

Do you have any advice for prospective students interested in anthropology at GSU?

My experience is that many of the best and most interesting opportunities and jobs come from professional relationships. With this in mind, I would tell anthropology students to approach their education with an explicit agenda and outline the specific steps they will take to reach their goals each semester. They need to distinguish themselves to their professors and mentors, proactively compete for opportunities within the department, and seek out the best internships outside the university. They should join and lead student groups and involve themselves in professional organizations.

In short, students should take every opportunity to demonstrate their work ethic and eagerness to contribute value to any group they find themselves a part of. My memory of the GSU Anthropology program is that students with an appropriate focus on their goals will find an enthusiastic faculty eager to engage them.

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“Take ownership of your education—the more creative you are with acquiring skills, utilizing resources, and seeking opportunities, the better you will ultimately be for it.”

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Dan Jones earned his M.A. in anthropology in 2015 with a focus in Bioarchaeology.

What is your current job/position?

I am the Archaeology Lab Manager for the Veterans Curation Program (VCP) in Augusta, GA. The VCP is a program that was created to process at-risk archaeological collections belonging to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

What professional activities have you embarked upon since graduation from the anthropology program at GSU?

Since graduating from GSU in 2015, I served as a field technician for a local CRM project, I spent the summer field season in Moquegua, Peru working with Nicola Sharratt, and I began my current position with the VCP. In addition, I have been working with my co-authors to turn my thesis into a publication. It has been a busy 6 months!

What courses in anthropology at GSU, field schools, internships or extracurricular activities enhanced your ability to qualify for your current job/position?

In my current position I draw heavily on my training in archaeological methods, as well as my knowledge of Praxis and my experience working in the GSU Bioarchaeology Lab. While at GSU I completed a bioarchaeology field school through Arizona State University and that experience was instrumental in facilitating my thesis research and helping me build a network in the archaeology community. My network and the skills developed during my time at GSU were critical when it came time to find employment.

Do you have any advice for prospective students interested in anthropology at GSU?

I think GSU is a great place to study anthropology because of the close-knit department, dedicated faculty, and the myriad opportunities to pursue your own interests. My best piece of advice for a prospective student is to take ownership of your education—the more creative you are with acquiring skills, utilizing resources, and seeking opportunities, the better you will ultimately be for it.

Sarah Love an M.A. Alum of our program has been featured in an ongoing series of online interview broadcasts about CRM professionals. To check it out click here.