The SAA Archaeological Record March 2011 : Page 18
CAREERS IN ARCHAEOLOGY organization. Through AIA and Archaeology Magazine , I have discovered education and outreach initiatives across the world, and I’ve also been able to help provide educational opportunities to thousands of students across the United States. Toward the end of our 2008 summer field season in Belize, I received a call from Dr. Awe asking me to show a group of f students from North Carolina around the site. With only a few days left to close the site and Archaeology Magazine on-site, I was less than thrilled with this request, but I was always happy to help Dr. Awe, so we made the arrangements. The students came with three of their faculty and the head of f schools, Bonnie Cotter. The North Carolina students were inquisitive and eager to get involved with the project and by that evening, Mrs. Cotter had offered me a job. A year later, my wife and I made the move to North Carolina, and I began work at the Davidson Day School. Here at Davidson Day School, I teach Anthropology and Archaeology, but classroom instruction is only a fraction of f my duties. I continue to plan and coordinate the Maya at the Playa Conference, which is still held in Florida. I’ve devel-oped, with the help of Dr. George Stuart, a second confer-ence, Maya at the Lago, here in Davidson. I also work on elementary and middle school programs that t revolve around archaeology. One program mirrors the field methods simulation originally created in Florida, where our students learn the excavation techniques used by archaeolo-gists while they learn their core subjects such as geometry, history, and biology. I also organize a workshop and lecture series, which brings top scholars and artisans from across the globe to share hands-on learning opportunities with the children. Above all, my primary role is developing the Belize archaeology program. In addition to furthering that pro-gram’s ongoing research and student outreach activities, I have been working on developing a research facility in West-ern Belize. Once complete, this facility will house as many as 100 students and faculty and will offer cutting-edge lab space and technology that will permit the best possible research to be performed. The facility will create jobs for professional archaeologists and local citizens, and will generate revenue for site preservation efforts. I’m also always researching new archaeological research opportunities across the globe for Davidson students. I’m extremely grateful that I work in a job I love and find rewarding. I found a demand that needed supplying and everyone involved seems to have benefited. The key to my career success has been connecting interested members of f the public, both young and old, with members of the aca-demic community, and providing archaeological program-ming for those who may have had the same passion for archaeology in their youth as I did, but decided to choose a straighter and less risky career path. I like to think that I have provided more opportunities for professionals to get their work supported, both directly and indirectly, and also given them a chance to be appreciated for the amazing work they do. In turn, I have been fortunate enough to provide the pub-lic the great gift of archaeological knowledge, which is not always readily available. I think job opportunities like mine aren’t going to be that t common and are probably more elusive than that next t Mayan codex. I had to convince my employers that they y needed an archaeology teacher and that my services were priceless, but I contend that archaeology is typically an easy y sell. Students and the public are hungry for what’s happen-ing in the professional world. Freshness in what you’re deliv-ering also is vital to longevity in a career like mine. Although I love mixing things up, I feel a certain pressure to continue to create new and different hands-on learning opportunities and programs to satisfy the audience. It’s a little like vaude-ville... and I love every minute of it. 18 The SAA Archaeological Record • March 2011
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