BA in Archaeology, 2024
Paige is an Archaeology Major with a Minor in Earth & Environmental Science. In Summer 2023, she participated in a forensic anthropology field school in southwestern Germany that was excavating the 1944 crash site of a US B-17 aircraft, with the goal of recovering, identifying, and repatriating the remains of missing crew members. This is a project in conjunction with the US Defense Dept’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Honolulu.
Paige’s reflection about this fieldwork is wonderful. She says: “Many of the other participants had military experience and ties, and they taught me a ton about discipline, respect, gratitude, and teamwork. There was such a great bond between all of us, especially because we were so passionate about the mission. As the project wrapped up, the supervisors awarded me their Golden Marshalltown prize, as I was the only proper Archaeology major there – I think I carried the spirit and enthusiasm of an archaeologist for the team, and I was often asked for my unique experiences! That honestly made me realize the archaeological knowledge I had built in my years at BU.”
Paige notes that many of her AR courses helped her to understand the diversity of cultural complexity, challenging so much of the elementary history she had learned before coming to BU. This summer, Paige will begin an archaeology technician internship at Green Mountains and Finger Lakes National Forests in Vermont, working on both prehistoric and 18th-19th c. sites. She hopes that this will then lead to similar full-time employment with the National Park Service or other government agencies.