"I am an archaeologist through and through. I should have known, as I have been collecting rocks since I was little! I am still just amazed at how much we can learn from trash! Teaching anthropology (all 4 subfields) is a passion, and I want students to leave my class or tutoring sessions understanding global connections and how the linkages of societies today are reflected in the historic and prehistoric development. All students should walk away with content as well as the ability to make linkages between the eras, such as how the political economy of past civilizations is relevant in today’s world. I am a strong proponent of experimental archaeology, because it replicates what is seen in the archaeological record, and I find that this works well in an active learning environment. I am currently attempting to recreate some of the lapidary work found in the Pátzcuaro Lake Basin, Michoacán, Mexico as we recovered many stages of production.

I have an undergraduate degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylania in History and Anthropology. I started out as a History major with the intent to work on USSR history or Russian history but after taking a few anthropology classes I realized that I was more interested in pursuing a graduate career in Anthropology. I still love history and following current events.

I started working CRM in Arizona then went to University of Oklahoma for a Master's degree. I was inspired to study lithics, as one of my first graduate classes was on lithic analysis. I find it fascinating that we can tell so much about a culture looking at the bi-products of lithic production. I studied the lithic reduction at three sites in the Casa Grandes area in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Before I began the program at Michigan State University, I worked for Western Cultural Resource Management in southern New Mexico. At MSU I was Dr. Helen Pollards’ student, working in the Pátzcuaro Lake Basin, Michoacán, Mexico. I analyzed the obsidian and basalt industries at three sites. After examining the lithics (r" less...