曾经走过的路

Nontraditional Student Digs Into International Archaeology

本文由 拉尔夫Bartholdt, University Communications
Photos 和 video by 杰米Dougall, Edited by University Visual Productions

杰米Dougall uncovered her future while digging up the past.

A few years out of high school, Dougall worked at a North Idaho amusement park, operated a nonprofit 和 worked at a senior living facility when she decided to change her future.

She enrolled at U of I as an undergraduate, non-traditional student to pursue her love of things international 和 signed up for an archaeology summer program. It required traveling to Bulgaria – a former Soviet Bloc country – to unearth pieces of an ancient Greek culture.

If she had wanted an easy path, she would not have traveled 6,000 miles to kneel in dirt 和 rubble several hours per day, for two weeks scraping with a trowel, 和 digging with h和 tools to exhume a road used as an industrial trade route dating to the Classical 和 Hellenistic Period around 200 BC.

Dougall’s decision to gain experience in her chosen field through immersion in another culture, 和 h和s-on learning at a dig site along the Black Sea has cemented her focus on earning degrees in 国际研究 和 人类学.

“It was an amazing experience 和 something I had wanted to do. I just didn’t know how until I enrolled at U of I,道格尔说.

Growing up in Coeur d’Alene 和 Post Falls where she learned to love history 和 people’s stories, Dougall entered the work force after high school because she thought college was not attainable.

“作为一个低收入者, 第一代学生, I found that my university options were limited,道格尔说.

Affording a college education seemed out of reach, but the university’s in-state tuition 和 merit-based scholarships made it achievable, 她说.

“I could afford to come here,”她说。. “Better than that, the 人类学 program was exactly what I was looking for. It fit my goals better than any other school in the state, 和 I was excited to come learn with the professors here.”

The nonprofit she formed after high school, before enrolling at U of I, taught students to write 和 tell their stories.

“我喜欢讲故事, 和 I love the way both 人类学 和 国际研究 give us the opportunity to listen to people’s unique stories,”她说。. “With archaeology, we learn to underst和 their stories from the things they left behind.”

During the summer excavation program she gathered more stories, most notably those of a region’s history 和 culture, taught by experts such as Professor 凯瑟琳Kolpan.

“I got to experience the nitty-gritty of archaeology -- dirt, shovels 和 long hours in the sun. I got to do it with students from around the globe, learning from world-class experts,”她说。. “I experienced Bulgaria, a country I never thought I would get to visit. I learned about their history 和 their present-day experience.”