A more constructive way to suggest how anthropology serves students’ career interests is to cite particular cases. A small sample may serve to convey the range of career options our graduates have chosen:

Tom Blackford, ’81.

After graduation, Tom worked as a guide and resource person at Norlands, a 19th century Maine “living farm museum” near Livermore Falls. With his wife Deborah, Bates ’81, Tom then worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Berlize. They now own and operate an inn on the Maine coast.

Renee Leduc Clark, ’98.

A double major in biology and anthropology, Renee received a Fulbright award to expand her honors research into elephant-human interaction in Southern Africa. She then received her Masters from American University and is now an International Relations Specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Michael Diehl, ’85.

A double major in anthropology and mathematics. Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Buffalo, 1994. Professional archaeologist and paleoethnobotanist since 1990. Employed by Desert Archaeology, Inc, in Tucson, AZ, as a Project Director and paleoethnobotanist, since 1998.

Julie A. Draper, ’97.

Julie is the Education Coordinator at the Children’s Museum of maine in Portland.

Stu Eldridge, ’77.

Stu went from Bates to the University of Pennsylvania where he completed his Ph.D. degree in anthropology on Maine coastal archaeology. Since then he has taught anthropology at Mt. Hermon-Northfield Academy.

Andrea Eschen, ’81.

Andrea went on to graduate work at New York University in the field of Health and Family Planning in an international context, carrying on an interest in medical anthropology she developed at Bates.  She now works for a family planning program in New York City.

Corey Harris, ’91.

Wrote an honors thesis on pidgin and creole languages stemming from his junior semester abroad in Cameroon. A Watson Fellowship enabled him to pursue a comparison of the West African case with Melanesian linguistic dynamics. After completing a two year stint with Teach For America, posted to a rural school in the Mississippi delta, he launched his award-winning career recording and performing Delta Blues. Corey Harris was featured in Martin Scorceses’ recent PBS Series on The Blues.

Colleen Kaman, ’95.

Colleen was just accepted for a graduate program in journalism at Columbia. She has deferred and is still working as a producer for CNN.

Erika Lilja, ’96.

Practicing Veterinary medicine in Illinois.

Yain Lu, ’84.

With majors in both biology and anthropology, Yain completed graduate studies in archaeology at the City University of New York. Her graduate studies continued innovative work on identifying tool functions by blood traces which she began at Bates.

Caitrin Lynch, ’90.

Dr. Lynch received her Ph.D. and M.A. in cultural anthropology from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Olin College, Dr. Lynch was at Drew University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. her expertise in the cultural dimensions of offshore manufacturing, experience in consumer research with an eye to design implications, a commitment to understanding social behavior in global contexts and a devotion to encouraging students to use qualitative methods to think critically about the world around them derive directly from her work here at Bates.

Laura Palmer, ’89.

After her junior year on a University of Wisconsin program in Thailand, Laura returned to Bates, graduated in anthropology, and worked for several years in Chicago. She worked as an archaeologist with the U.S. Forestry Service at Gila National Park in New Mexico, and then finished Public Policy School at the University of Michigan.

Brian M. Powers, ’94.

Brian is now the proud owner of Strange Brew Beer & Winemaking, Marlboro, Massachusetts.

Jim Ratcliffe, ’95.

Building on a junior semester program he did in Nepal, Jim runs a non-profit called the Himalayan Educators Development Project and edits middle-school science textbooks for Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. In a letter to Steve Kemper, he says, “I really feel like my anthropology degree was the best preparation I could have gotten for this.”

Sarah E. Standiford, ’97.

Sarah Standiford serves as Executive Director of the Maine Women’s Lobby and its sister organization, the Maine Women’s Policy Center. She oversees the public policy development, research, and organizing efforts of these two multi-issue women’s organizations dedicated to expanding opportunities for all Maine women and girls. Sarah came to the organization in July 2003, from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. She has significant training experience, including work with the association of Uganda Women Medical Doctors. Prior to working for PPNNE, Sarah campaigned with the Maine League of Conservation Voters and directed the Maine People’s Alliance field canvas.

Jolene Vaillancourt, ’81.

After studying Spanish at Bates and spending her junior year in Columbia, Jolene went on to work with Spanish-speaking Americans in southern New Hampshire.

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