Go Big Grad: Leah Stirrup

Photo Credit: Leah Stirrup
Tue, 05/14/2024 - 00:00

Major: Anthropology, Geology, Spanish
Minor: Indigenous Studies, Archaeology, Piano (FPA)
Hometown: Littleton, CO

What does graduating from Nebraska mean to you?
It means that I will be able to pursue a Master’s in anthropology degree at KU this coming year and become a professional archaeologist in the near future.

Transformational moments
Through my anthropology courses, I was able to find a job as a Park Naturalist at Schramm State Recreation Area. From there, I created a digital museum that served as my senior thesis about the history of Schramm Park, the oldest State fish hatchery in the state of Nebraska. It encompasses 320 million years of time and incorporates my anthropology and geology majors along with my Native American studies and archaeology minors. Creating the digital museum incorporated skills from Digital Heritage Tools with Dr Richards-Rissetto where I used ArcGIS StoryMaps and ArcGIS to create an accessible database for Nebraska residents to access history of the area. The museum will be posted on the Nebraska Game and Parks Website.

Involvement
1) Nebraska swim club, 2) Lab intern in geology department, 3) geology club

Plans after graduation
I will be attending the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, and obtaining a Master’s in Anthropology with a focus in geoarchaeology.

I am most looking forward to
Continuing my education and learning how earth processes affect archaeological sites.

The best thing about being a Husker is
all of the research opportunities professors provide and the support systems and community you can find within your major.

Thank you message
Thank you to my thesis advisors and anthropology department faculty and classmates for supporting me throughout my undergrad. Having thought provoking discussions about real-world issues from an anthropological perspective has truly been eye-opening and allowed me to pursue anthropology as a career.