Ask a Graduate Student

These are our graduate student ambassadors. They are available to answer questions relating to the William & Mary graduate program in Anthropology. Feel free to contact them with your questions.

Jennifer Browne is a 2nd year M.A./Ph.D. student. Contact Jenn

Hi there! I’m a 2nd year MA/PhD student in historical archaeology, working under Dr. Audrey Horning. I am interested in conflict archaeology and the social experience of warfare both on and off the battlefield. While most of my current research looks at the American Revolution, I have also explored the Pequot War and the Civil War, utilizing the same theoretical framework of the social and cultural expressions of conflict. Outside of that main research vein, I am also interested in topics relating to post-colonial theory, Native American studies, political economy, and memory.

I received my BA in anthropology and archaeology and a certificate in museum studies from Connecticut College. I spent much of my undergraduate career working on the museum-side of archaeology, so I am excited to get my hands dirty in archaeology, so to speak, for my graduate career! After undergrad, I worked with a CRM firm in New England and completed projects in the New York area. Since coming to William & Mary, I have worked with a few organizations in and outside of Virginia; I interned with the William & Mary Center for Archaeological Research as a field tech on their excavation at Manassas National Battlefield Park, spent time doing metal detection survey with Heritage Consultants on their battlefield archaeology projects in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and am currently interning with Colonial Williamsburg on their local archaeological excavations and in their lab.

If you have questions about W&M, collaboration with archaeological projects in and outside of Virginia, securing off-campus housing, or anything in-between, shoot me an email!

Evan Cabral is a 1st year M.A. student. Contact Evan

 
Hello!  I am a first year MA student in Anthropology with Dr. Martin Gallivan as my advisor. I am primarily interested in working with indigenous communities in eastern Virginia and North Carolina in topics of the pre-contact and contact periods such as ceramic manufacture and settlement patterns.

As for a little background to myself and my journey to William and Mary, I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) in 2022 with degrees in anthropology and archaeology. After helping with some excavations in Virginia I ended up working near Williamsburg for the last three years with an archaeological firm and non-profit organization called the Fairfield Foundation. I am fortunate to have worked on a variety of sites from the pre-contact period to the 20th century across coastal Virginia which allowed me to gain more excavation experience as well as how to engage with the public regarding archaeology and history. During this time, I ended up spending two years working consistently with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe on their reservation, which shifted my interests towards working with indigenous groups. While I am still quite fresh in the graduate school process, I hope I can help any prospective students interested in the MA program, the application process, my potential research topics, or just general questions about the Williamsburg area!

Cyrus Hulen is a 1st year M.A./Ph.D. student. Contact Cyrus

Hi! I’m a first year MA/PhD student in the Anthropology Department. I study under Dr. Jennifer Kahn and focus on the archaeology of food systems, human-environment interactions, and geospatial analysis in Remote Oceania. Currently, I’m involved with fieldwork on the island of Rurutu in French Polynesia as well as remote sensing research in the Line Islands. Additionally, I work in Professor Kahn’s Oceanic Archaeology lab here at William and Mary.

I received my B.A. in Archaeology from the College of Wooster before spending a few years in cultural resource management covering fieldwork in Hawai’I, the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and Appalachia. Please reach out if you have any questions about the program or life here in Williamsburg. Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

 

Adam Kingery is a 1st year M.A./Ph.D. student. Contact Adam

Hello! I am a 1st year MA/PhD student in Historical Archaeology, working under the supervision of Dr. Martin Gallivan. My research interests include time/temporality, placemaking, and trade interactions in indigenous Virginia, especially focusing through the lens of ceramics and perishable goods.

I came to William and Mary from Texas after finishing my undergrad at Trinity University in San Antonio, where I also got experience in archaeological and chemical lab work. Having just come out of undergrad, I have experience managing the transition from undergrad to graduate life; so, so please reach out if you have any questions about it! Additionally, I have loved living in Williamsburg; and please reach out if you have any questions about life within the Anthropology department, as a graduate student, or about Williamsburg in general!

 

Leah Stein is a 2nd year Ph.D. student Contact Leah

Hello! I’m a 2nd year MA/PhD student in Anthropology, working under the direction of Dr. Audrey Horning. My research focuses on the historical archaeology of the Sephardic Jewish diaspora, looking specifically at Sephardic life in colonial America and the Caribbean. My research interests also include placemaking practices, dress and material culture studies, and the politics of heritage management!

Before coming to William and Mary, I received my BA  in archaeology and anthropology from the University of Oxford, so I’ve had experience doing archaeology on both sides of the pond. I’m also currently working as an intern for the Colonial Williamsburg archaeology crew. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about the MA/PhD program, living in Williamsburg, getting involved with clubs or activities on campus, opportunities to get involved with Colonial Williamsburg, and more!

Maia Wilson is a 4th year Ph.D. student. Contact Maia

Hi Griffin hopeful! I am a 4th year Ph.D. student working under the supervision of Dr. Michelle Lelievre and Dr. Joe Jones. My research interests are Black history, Black repatriation politics, and Black feminist archaeology in the southeast United States. One site, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, is Indigenous ceremonial homeland, which I am comparing to two historically Black sites- Belle Grove Plantation and the Travis-Champion plantation. I work with legacy collections. I’m an archaeologist who is not digging for her PhD.

I received my M.A. at Uni of Idaho (yeah… Idaho) in Anthropology, but I am very at home in Williamsburg, Va as the daughter of Portsmouth, Va natives. Currently, I have external as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and I have just concluded my tenure as a Kelso Fellow which is internal funding. I am very familiar with the processes for applying to and navigating NSF external funding while at William & Mary. If you’ve got questions about the NSF, please reach out. Further, I most recently served as the Social Media Chair for the Anthropology Graduate Student Collective. I am a registered archaeological volunteer at Colonial Williamsburg (which comes with a lovely parking sticker), and I have interned with Colonial Historical National Park’s Cultural Resources team at Yorktown and Jamestown. So, if you are looking for ways to get involved here at William & Mary and beyond in the greater Williamsburg area, I’m happy to chat and connect you with folks if I can. I participate in the Graduate Student Assembly’s DEI Peer to Peer Mentoring Program for graduate Arts & Sciences students. I also have connections with the Black Student Organization. I take BIPOC, Queer, and mental health resources and support very seriously, and many of us carry multiple marginalized identities that deserve greater services. I’m here to help you get connected to them. I love to explore this area, so if you want recommendations on what to do and some information on potential areas to live in Williamsburg, I can offer insight. We can chat about grad life, the Graduate Arts & Sciences program, anthropology at W&M and more!