Finding Community

Sarah Blessing, Class of 2015

Attending a university as a transfer student and barely knowing why you chose your major can be surmised in one word: terrifying. However, as fate would have it I began making some lifelong friends that first fall quarter. Friends who just happened to be involved in a certain club called “Anthro Society.” It was this cool place where graduate students and professors would actually talk with undergraduates and have meaningful discussions. A brand new experience I found riveting. By winter quarter after expressing interest in joining, I became one of the publicity officers and learned more about the club; what it hoped to achieve and how it should be expanded upon in future years.

I became Anthro Society President my senior year and really sought to make it a club that tried to focus on all aspects of anthropology as well as a community for all anthropology students. It is important to learn as undergraduates what we should focus on if we want to continue with anthropology once we have graduated. Our Tea Time guests were always more than willing to help and taught us memorable life lessons and skills that they felt would help us in our own futures as anthropologists.

This year we hosted numerous talks with graduate students and professors, who taught us what it is that we can accomplish in our futures as anthropologists. Some of these included informational sessions on graduate school preparedness, skills for working in the field, how to find jobs that apply to our degree, and how to get involved in the labs run by our professors. We also hosted socials, a T-shirt fundraiser, and other events to show our solidarity as students and especially as friends.

Anthro Society has equipped me with leadership experience and networking lessons that could not be found elsewhere. I was imparted with confidence and a glimpse into how my career and those of my present friends and future colleagues will appear. At every step of the way I have tried to pass this knowledge on in hopes that it would not only benefit myself but my friends and others whom I hope will also succeed in life. I can only hope that in the forthcoming future, Anthro Society will be a place for future meetings of lifelong friends and a place of passionate learning.