CLASSICAL STUDIES
I took my first Classical Studies course, Classical Mythology, my Freshman Year by chance, and fell in love with the subject.  Since declaring my major, I have taken classes on Ancient Greek, Pompeii, Cleopatra, Roman Civilization, and Ancient Tragedy, among others.  I have a particular interest in Classical Reception, which led to my undergrad thesis focusing on the reception of race in Greek literature.  My major has also led to amazing opportunities, including archaeological work at the Palace of Nestor in Pylos, Greece, for which I received an Emerson Grant.
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Thesis
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Majoring in Classical Studies, the culmination of my studies came during my senior year in the form of a thesis. I chose to write about a subject I only knew a little about, but was of great importance. In the field of Classics, ancient social constructs of sexuality and gender have been delved into greatly, but not race. I felt that, in a time dominated by discussions of Black Lives Matter and white nationalism, it was incredibly important to study this subject. I looked at how the Greeks formed their concepts of race, not by skin color as we do, but by geographical origin. In addition, I analyzed the famous Euripidean play of Medea, looking for mentions of ancient racism, and comparing it to a modern reception called Medea, Queen of Colchester, by Marianne McDonald. In the reception, the playwright has changed all ancient forms of racism to modern racism, making Medea an African woman. The end result allows the audience to clearly see the connections between ancient racism and modern racism, so that we may begin to criticize our prejudices and their origins.
EMERSON GRANT
During my Junior year of college, my advisor contacted me with the opportunity to work with her at an archaeological dig in Pylos, Greece, at the Palace of Nestor. I jumped at the opportunity, and applied for a Hamilton College Emerson Grant to fund the trip. The Emerson Grant was created to fund student and faculty teams to work on "research or other scholarly or creative collaboration outside the confines of the classroom." With no opportunities to study Classical Archaeology at Hamilton, the Emerson was able to grant me a unique learning experience that combined my both my Classics major and Anthropology minor. Over the 7 weeks I spent in Pylos I learned more than I thought I could, including archaeological techniques and procedures, the history of Classical archaeology, and Mycenaean material history. Being able to dig up and feel history with my own hands definitely influenced my hands-on learning philosophy, as the impact of the experience will stay with me much more than a classroom lecture ever could. I enjoyed the experience so much that when I was extended an invitation by the directors of the Palace of Nestor/Griffin Warrior Tomb Excavations, Shari Stocker and Jack Davis, to return in 2018, I leapt at the chance.
Below is a link to a photo gallery of my time in Pylos in 2017, as well as a link to the Griffin Warrior Tomb Project website.