Ann Bailey, Anthropology, 2011
Ann Bailey graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2011. She serves as an Operations Support Engineer with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and also sits on KSU’s Department of Geography and Anthropology Advisory Board. Her position at Hewlett Packard Enterprise is “part operations, part project management, and part business analysis.” She analyzes data to develop and implement action plans, reach goals and improve customer experience. As she researches the impact of projects to the various departments of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, she says that she applies the same approach to research that she learned in the anthropology program at KSU.
Shortly after her Introduction to Anthropology class, Ann Bailey took a senior level course with Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick Smith, cementing her desire to study anthropology for her undergraduate degree.
Ann Bailey, KSU alumni
Studying anthropology made a lasting impact: “I try to wrap my head around things that I don't quite understand…That's been something incredibly hard from an anthropological perspective, to see other humans doing certain things. It’s just opened my mind and brought perspective to things that I don't think I necessarily had perspective on before. It forces my thinking to fight for the person who needs the voice versus fighting for the people who already have the voice.”
While she chose KSU because it was close to her home, it allowed her to interact with new people and new ideas. It became the place that broadened her perspective and provided experiences she may not have otherwise had. She will be pursuing an MBA at Georgia State in January in order to advance her career in IT.
Duncan Balinger, Anthropology, 2014
Duncan Balinger graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2014. He teaches English alongside his wife, in Kyrgyzstan as a Peace Corps Volunteer and sees anthropology at work in his daily life: “A large part of working with the Peace Corps is, obviously, working with another culture. We're living with a host family and we're integrating into small communities, although my community is actually a city.” Not only does he get to experience a new culture, but Balinger gets to experience other people’s introduction to a different culture as well.
Anthropology helps Balinger in his daily life. “Anthropology definitely makes me try to think about why people do certain things, like why they do it the way they do it. It's more about not judging and thinking, culturally, why people are the way they are. I think that's been the more valuable thing: being open to new things and seeing and experiencing all the different parts of culture.”
Duncan Balinger, KSU alumni
While at KSU, Balinger excavated in Belize with Dr. Terry Powis and researched in India with Dr. Teresa Raczek. Her Archaeology of Identity class helped him see how archaeology could inform modern human behavior. Between graduating and joining the Peace Corps, Balinger spent almost three years working in CRM. He worked as both an archaeological field technician and, eventually, as a crew chief, supervising in the field. Dr. Powis and other alumni had connections that allowed him to spring board himself into the field. He recommends making as many connections as possible, both with professors and fellow anthropology students.
For anyone interested in the Peace Corps, Balinger says: “As far as Peace Corps goes, anyone who is interested in joining, just know that it is a two-year commitment…It requires a lot of flexibility, you have to move your life overseas and it changes a lot. It helps to be a couple; a lot of people apply as a married couple. I think it’s worth it, as an anthropologist, if you want to experience a culture and live in that culture for two years.”
Charles Brummeler, Anthropology, 2015
Charles Brummeler graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2015. He is a Senior Archaeological Technician at Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc.. He conducts environmental surveys for Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) projects to ensure that no archaeological sites will be disturbed during construction. “A lot of what I do now is report writing. That incorporates not just what we find in the field, but putting that within the context of what may have been going on historically in the area. There's an aspect of understanding cultures of areas and towns and how different cultures in an area might interact.” He also does community outreach, “I would say a lot of my cultural skills play into my success in identifying which groups to reach out to.”
Charles Brummeler, KSU alumni
Dr. Terry Powis recommended Brummeler for the position and he emphasizes the power of making good connections during college. Dr. Teresa Raczek also served as a mentor; he went with her twice to India and took one of her archaeology courses. “I moved more towards the archeological side of things when I took a class called Archaeology of Identity that Dr. Raczek taught one semester. It really was more than the basic archaeology courses. That class was more of a blending of the theoretical like cultural side of things and how that stuff presents itself in the archeological practice.”
Brummeler says that, “I think anthropology does a lot to show that there's more to the story than what most people usually see when they first look at a subject.” His advice to undergraduate students: “Specifically for archaeology, KSU has a GIS certificate (Geographic Information Science certificate). Get that certificate. Outside of archaeology, I would say just try and find something that you can become an expert on….and then just try and connect to people who are already working at that subject or maybe in subjects peripheral to it.”
Savana Deems, Anthropology, 2016
Savana Deems graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2016, and is currently a Project Manager/Archaeologist at Environmental Corporation of America (ECA). When Deems first began working at ECA, she was a Tribal Consultant and Project Manager, a position that she says was more cultural anthropology focused as it required Deems to consult federally recognized tribes about proposed construction projects. She would contact tribal leaders and consult with them about the projects to ensure that nothing of religious or cultural significance was impacted. Now, her current position allows Deems to get out into the field: “We handle a lot of federal projects and I'm assigned different projects across the U.S. I handle everything from conducting interviews and notifying newspapers, to doing the archaeology and writing all reports that go into a new project with federal government.”
Savana Deems, KSU alumni
Paola Garcia, Anthropology, 2014
Paola Garcia graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2014. She currently serves as Admissions Specialist at Year Up, an organization that offers a one-year IT workforce development program to urban young adults with no viable pathway to college or a professional career (www.yearup.org). Garcia’s task is to assist applicants through the admissions process, including the interview process. She acquired the interviewing skills and ethnographic writing she uses every day from her major in anthropology.
Paola Garcia, KSU alumni
Megan Hoogstad, Anthropology, 2013
Megan Hoogstad graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2013. She works in medical device manufacturing at Cryolife, one of the largest donated human tissue processing labs in the United States. Since starting there after graduation as a Laboratory Assistant, she has been promoted three times and is now a PhotoFix Team Lead, preparing tissue for surgical vascular repair. Hoogstad initially found the position through a coworker who thought she would be a good fit. Although she was initially resistant to pursuing a long-term career in the field, she now has plans to stay.
Megan Hoogstad, KSU alumni
Hoogstad argues that biological anthropology and forensic anthropology provide a good background for this field. Her practicum at the Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta drew the attention of her employer when she was interviewed. Cultural anthropology provided interview skills as well as skills in notation and documentation that Hoogstad uses regularly. She says, “I have really good interview skills from being in anthropology and doing cultural anthropology. So that helps me in conversations in the workplace and…how to talk to people and how to get, you know, the answers…how to give people enough time to answer questions. So I think, having studied anthropology I find it easier to talk to people.”
She also credits Dr. Terry Powis’ Belize study abroad as one of her best memories. Hoogstad’s advice to students: “Really don't be afraid to try anything even if it's not in your field. When I was studying anthropology, I felt like the only way to get a job was to go through graduate school and do all these other steps. I felt like by studying anthropology I had to take a job in that field or I was essentially a failure. And that's not what happened. I got a job not in anthropology, but I use my anthropology skills daily and I love my job. So just don't be afraid to take what you can and take any job opportunities you can. You never know who you're going to be and what doors can open up doing something that's not your field.”
Vivien Kibble, Anthropology, 2016
Vivien Kibble is currently a Lab Assistant for the company Corrdesa, a company that develops corrosion prediction software for military aircraft. Anthropology taught her basic lab skills including how to conduct research, analyze data, and write up results in a scientific format. She uses these skills in research and development of corrosion prevention and communication for Corrdesa customers. The opportunity to gain practical and technical knowledge in physical anthropology at KSU guided Kibble’s career choice.
Kibble says that anthropology taught her to listen. “It’s taught me that it doesn't matter what you go into, you can't just jump to conclusions, you can't just assume.” She also argues that anthropology prepared her to work with colleagues who come from countries all over the world. I think it teaches you to be more compassionate. It's taught me to be more intrigued, more involved.”
Vivien Kibble, KSU alumni
Being involved is something that Kibble views highly. She credits Drs. Smith and Gooding for her success today. Her time at KSU was greatly improved by the faculty and the amount of dedication they had to students.
“The KSU professors, by far, they are 90% of why I would ever choose the program, aside from the general love for the whole field. You actually have doctorates here that are invested in you, it’s not just getting you through the course…they take the work and the time to help you with your research, its not just here's your assignment, just go and do it. They actually promote your self-interests in it.”
Kibble will be pursuing a Master of Arts in Anthropology next fall. Her advice to those unsure if they want to acquire another degree: “I would say explore all of your options…because there's no guarantee that you'll go straight into your field. The more skillsets you acquire, the better suited you are to get jobs in between that get you to the end of your goal. Anthropology provides that.”
Will McKenna, Anthropology, 2012
Will McKenna currently works as a Development Associate with Georgia Tech, raising funds to support student affairs on campus. He describes the work supporting student groups as fun and rewarding. Anthropology taught McKenna the skills in interviewing, critical thinking, and communication that allow him to stand out in his career. He says that, “having a degree in anthropology makes me stand out as a candidate. And in a lot of job interviews that I've had, that's been a talking point where people have asked me and I've been able to say I have a degree that specializes in people and allows me to communicate and relate and see things from the other side of the table. It’s made me, I think, a more attractive candidate in competing for jobs.”
“One of the things that impressed my previous employer so much at the job interview is that they asked about transferable skills from anthropology: I told them that it taught me to look at the full picture. I used as an example a pottery sherd.
Will McKenna, KSU alumni
Looking at the striations, looking at the materials within the little piece of pottery and whether or not there were burn marks on one side versus the other, whether it was rolled pottery and all the information that you could glean from something the size of a quarter, essentially, or slightly bigger.”
As a non-traditional student, Will McKenna already had some career experience in the auto finance industry when he started his degree. He was looking for a career change and came to KSU to acquire a history degree. However, after his first week in Dr. Susan Kirkpatrick Smith’s Introduction to Anthropology, he fell in love with the subject and changed his major. After completing his Anthropology degree, McKenna returned to pursue an MBA from Kennesaw State, graduating in 2016.
Jenn Parent, Anthropology, 2014
Jenn Parent graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2014. She is currently a Museum Reference Archivist at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. After graduating from KSU, Parent received a Masters in Library and Information Sciences in 2017 from the University of Washington. She started at the Museum as a Processing Archivist and was later promoted to her current position.
Parent works with flight related collections including items related to the Wright brothers, plane blueprints, stewardess documentation, etc. “When a collection comes in from a donor it has to be processed which means it needs to be put in some kind of order and cataloged. It needs to be given controlled vocabulary so that it has access points for researchers who are looking for it. That was my initial job…Now my primary job is all of our reference inquiries.”
Jenn Parent, KSU alumni
Parent chose her undergrad in anthropology to prepare her for a career as a librarian. “Anthropology is a good mix because it provides me an understanding of a lot of different societies and it also provides me flexibility and context understanding...I don't make assumptions. I look at things kind of more holistically.”
As a non-traditional student, Parent felt supported and encouraged by the faculty. “There were a good handful of us that were interested in moving out into museums or libraries and not necessarily more traditional anthropology fieldwork. [Professors] would often try to tailor or find assignments for us that could be used on a resumé or something that would help us develop in that particular area.”
Parent says that anthropology taught her that “You never have all the information. I think what that means for me is that a lot of times I'm okay without a black and white answer. Instead, I have flexibility and adaptability and I can look at things multiple ways and holistically to see what might be the best path.”
