BA Alumni

BRIDGET ARNOLD, BA, 2023

Bridget Arnold is working her fourth season with the National Park Service, and her second season at Yosemite National Park. She recently graduated with a Degree+ in both Anthropology and Organizational Leadership with minors in Spanish and Design & Innovation. At Yosemite, she's working as a interpretive park ranger, meaning she's the one leading guided hikes and ranger talks, including two-hour tram tours throughout Yosemite Valley. She's also a Spanish language interpretive ranger, which means that when Spanish-speaking visitors have questions they can come to her for answers. She loves the fast-paced environment at Yosemite and is looking forward to working at other parks in the future! When the season wraps up in October, she'll be looking for another interpretation position ideally located somewhere warm for the wintertime. She's so thankful for her time at Purdue, and she's loving this opportunity to explore such an amazing place!

MARY PHELAN, BA, 2023

In June 2023, Mary will be starting as a User Experience Product Coordinator with the Children's Tumor Foundation.

TANVI INANI, BA, 2023

Tanvi Inani graduated from Purdue in 2023, with a degree in Economics and Anthropology, and minors in Statistics, Data Analytics, and Applied Anthropology. After graduation, she works as a Market Analyst with Ducker Carlisle, in Detroit. During her time at Purdue, Tanvi was involved on campus as a Resident Assistant, a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, and served on the Purdue Foundation Student Board.

DIANA QUINTERO-BISONO, BA, 2022

Diana Quintero-Bisono is a master's student in the Museum and Field Studies Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. During her time in the Anthropology Department at Purdue she was involved in research projects with Dr. Stacy Lindshield and Dr. Laura Zanotti. Here she developed an interest in cultural heritage preservation, archaeology, and community-engaged research. Upon the completion of her master’s degree, Diana seeks to obtain her Ph.D. in Anthropology with a focus on community-engaged cultural heritage preservation in the Caribbean. Using the skills obtained from an education in anthropology she hopes to work in a museum setting and/or obtain a faculty position.

ALYSSA SEEMAN, BA, 2020

Alyssa Seeman recently completed her MS in Social Science program in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Clemson University.

NATALIE YOUNG, BA, 2018

Natalie Young is the Associate Director of Experience and Education at Minnetrista.

LILY ANDERSON, BA, 2017

Lily Anderson is pursuing her Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology at Michigan State University. She received a Distinguished Graduate School Fellowship and a Spectrum Fellowship from MSU’s College of Human Medicine. She is very grateful to have been a part of Purdue's Anthropology Department.

KATHRYN FLORENCE, BA, 2017

Kathryn Florence completed her MA in Art History, Criticism and Conservation at Concordia University. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Canadian Latin American Archaeology Society (CLAAS).

JORDAN CARNES, BA, 2016

Jordan Carnes has been working as a 911 dispatcher in Dekalb County, Indiana for two years now. Jordan also worked as an Emergency Medical Technician for the Waterloo-Grant Township Fire Department from 2018 to 2022.

KATHRYN KECK, BA, 2014

Kathryn Keck is the Lead Conservation Information Analyst at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kathryn completed her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Classical Studies at Purdue. She also has a master’s from IUPUI in Museum Studies, and from the University of Glasgow in Art History.

COLBY BARTLETT, BA, 2000

Colby Bartlett is the Director of the Ouiatenon Preserve and Vice President of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association (TCHA) closely with Prof. Kory Cooper and Prof. Gruenbaum to develop increased collaboration between TCHA and Purdue Anthropology. He has served on an advisory committee to improve engagement with Native American tribal groups and currently serves as one of the Historic Preservation Commissioners for the City of West Lafayette and as President of that Commission. Over the last six years, Mr. Bartlett has served as the Chairman and led efforts to create the Ouiatenon Preserve. In his own words: “I am a fourth generation graduate of Purdue, and am very thankful for the exceptional education, guidance, encouragement (and patience) that my Purdue Anthropology professors afforded me! Profs Fry, Watson, Waddell, Peregrine, Anderson, Blanton, Helmkamp, Remis, Gruenbaum, Cooper, and others......Thank you!”

ANTHONY WEBSTER, BA, 1993

Since graduating with a BA in Anthropology in 1993, Dr. Anthony Weber went on to earn his MA in Anthropology from New Mexico State University in 1997 and his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004. He is currently a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas (with an appointment in Linguistics and as an Affiliate Faculty for the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program). Prior, he taught for eight years at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His research focuses on the relationship between individuals, languages and cultures as they intersect in contemporary Navajo poetry. His books include: Explorations in Navajo Poetry and Poetics; Intimate Grammars: An Ethnography of Navajo Poetry; and The Sounds of Navajo Poetry: A Humanities of Speaking. Dr. Webster also co-edited The Legacy of Dell Hymes: Ethnopoetics, Narrative Inequality, and Voice. In his own words: “the classes that I took at Purdue with, among others, Myrdene Anderson, the late O. Michael Watson, and the late Jack O. Waddell still inspire me, still give me pause, still, provoke me to ask different kinds of questions. For me, anyway, those classes, the conversations begun then, have not yet ended. I have always felt particularly fortunate to have earned my BA at Purdue.”