Digging Abroad by Patricia

Digging Abroad by Patricia - November 2017 Scholarship Essay

This past summer, I spent a week slowly peeling back the Earth with a trowel and I’ve never been more thrilled in my life: We found pebbles! Changes in soil color! A gradual change from silty to chalky consistency in the dirt! To almost anyone else, this would seem awfully boring. But I loved it!
I got to bring back the best mementos: grime under my nails that would not go away for an entire week! Socks that are forever stained a soft, Earthy brown! Shirts with eternal sweat stains! Again, to almost anyone else, this would see awfully dirty. But I loved it!
This past summer, I worked at a Center for American Archaeology (CAA) archaeology field school for a week in Kampsville, Illinois, where I studied a Middle Woodlands mound site. There, I maintained a dig site, categorized my findings, and learned a lot of important archaeological skills. It was one of the most engaging weeks of my life.
I know that I have a passion for anthropology that I plan to pursue in college, and I also know that studying abroad will positively augment my experience!
That single week at the CAA field school was extremely eye-opening and I learned so much. Studying abroad would only push that further! I already have a love for Ancient Civilizations. I volunteer at the Milwaukee Public Museum, where I specialize in interpreting a cart about Egyptian mummies: educating visitors on Ancient Egypt, handling artifacts, and explaining the mummification process. The chance to actually go to Egypt and combine my love for ancient civilizations with archaeology is thrilling: I could take my knowledge from the theoretical that is confined in museums, to make it extremely concrete (or, in the case of the Egyptian pyramids, extremely limestone).
Studying abroad would widen my world. Of course, longitudinally and latitudinally, I would travel further than I’ve probably ever been before. However, as someone who has a passion for ancient civilizations, studying abroad can also give me a deeper world. I mean this both in the physical soil (with layers upon layers of history!), but also a deeper understanding of my studies.
I can place what I learn in context and practice real archaeological methods in new and exciting sites. Hopefully, I can join a team that conducts important anthropological studies and research, and change the way we look at history!
Not only will studying abroad in college give me some of my favorite things: nerdy geological changes to map, dirty clothes that never really come clean, and a chance to take my passion for anthropology one step further.