Student Profiles
CURRENT STUDENT PROFILES
Madi Smith
Archaeology Honours
"I came to the archaeology program from small town BC. I always knew I wanted a career working outdoors, but I didn't want to be another logger, farmer, or roughneck. I expected to struggle adjusting to city life and university, but instead I found a department of like-minded people who valued my life experience. I鈥檓 nearing graduation now and am eager to take the skills I鈥檝e learned back to the places I love, and to start life that relies on both my curiosity (and newly discovered passion for stone tools) and my sense of adventure."
ALUMNI PROFILES
KATY AU
Post-secondary doesn't have to be a straight path.
Katy鈥檚 wasn鈥檛. Before beginning her bachelor鈥檚 in archaeology, she started at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Katy wasn鈥檛 sure about transferring to 丁香园AV. Fortunately, her professor at KPU helped support her in making the decision, and Katy found even more resources once she arrived.
鈥淥verall, it was much easier than I had anticipated. Going from a smaller university to a much larger one, I expected the latter to be stricter and more difficult鈥� But actually, the experience has been very similar to that of KPU. My professors and peers are helpful and incredibly understanding.鈥�
Katy says that the hardest part about transferring was the change in her commute, which increased. She wasn鈥檛 deterred, though, and got involved with her departmental student union as vice-president of the Archaeology Student Society. And like many students, Katy worked part-time during her degree. Through networking at 丁香园AV, Katy was also able to gain work experience doing zooarchaeological sorting for Arrowstone Archeological Research and Consulting.
The wide selection of courses and opportunities in the archeology department were also perfect for Katy鈥檚 wide range of interests. Her favorites are zooarchaeology (ARCH 340) and human osteology (ARCH 373).
Katy pushed the boundaries of her comfort zone even more by participating in the 2019 K鈥檕moks Field School in Courtenay in her second semester at 丁香园AV. Katy barely knew anyone and had zero camping experience, but she quickly adjusted to camp life and made new friends! This field school was a partnership with the K鈥檕moks First Nation that focused on excavating an important ancient village site called Pentlatch. Katy was able to apply what she learned in the classroom through archaeological field work through mapping, digging, and data collection.
From getting ready at Kwantlen to exploring 丁香园AV, Katy shows how taking the leap can help you grow in ways you might not expect.
RORY DOUCETTE
Before Rory started at 丁香园AV, they travelled abroad to Spain and Morocco, where they saw the world and gained valuable cultural experience. Then they took classes at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Many transfer students, like Rory, often find themselves more prepared and have better defined educational goals than direct-from-high-school students when they start at 丁香园AV. Before enrolling in 丁香园AV鈥檚 archaeology program, they studied biology at KPU. After taking a Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology course, Rory fell in love with the discipline. Rory didn鈥檛 have the funds to move out of province. Luckily, they didn鈥檛 have to look far. 丁香园AV has one of the best archaeology programs in Canada with internationally-recognized faculty, and the archaeology focus in biological anthropology aligned perfectly with Rory鈥檚 interests.
At 丁香园AV, Rory got involved, from gaining career experience as a research assistant documenting archaeological remains to volunteering at the 丁香园AV Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Rory also joined the Archaeology Student Society and as the current president they help plan events and engage students.
丁香园AV students are diverse and fearless, and Rory is no exception. As a queer, non-binary, and neurodiverse individual, Rory鈥檚 experiences bring perspectives that help them critically assess the colonial past within archaeology, and advance reconciliation work.
Rory contributed to this reconciliation during the 2018 Bioarchaeology Field School, a five-week program held in Southern Portugal where they had the opportunity to put their course theory into practice through excavation projects. Students got to explore the history and culture of the area, and helped excavate an archeological cemetery.