We are now at 80% of our campaign goal!  TODAY is the last day of the campaign which means it is your LAST CHANCE to help support our graduate students in repaying their travel debts from the SfAA meetings!  Remember that any of the donations that are left over from helping our students with travel debt go directly into the student travel fund for future student travel!

During the last week of March, more than a dozen anthropology graduate students attended the SfAAs in Santa Fe.  Some flew and some drove, but all enjoyed the professional trip.  Below you will find some pictures of the trip ranging from Santa Fe's beautiful scenery to the dinner that the Anthropology Department's professors, students, and alumni had together during the week.  We hope you enjoy this backstage look at our travels and continue to donate to our campaign so that our students can pay off their travel debts!

We are almost at 80% of our funding goal!  If you haven't donated yet or want to donate again you only have 4 days left!

We are greatly appreciative of everyone who has donated to our funding campaign!

There are only 10 donation days left!  If you haven't donated yet please do so soon or you'll lose your chance to assist our graduate students in covering the costs of attending the SfAA conference.  We have almost reached 60% of our goal thanks to all of you great supporters!

Additionally, during these last 10 days, for every donation (of any amount) we receive we will be given one ticket to enter a drawing for a $150 award!

This week's Santa Fe Spotlight is on Hannah Clevenger!

Hannah Clevenger is a first year anthropology graduate student, from Sevierville, TN, who obtained a BA in Anthropology at Sewanee: The University of the South in 2015.  Her interests are focused on museum studies, heritage, and museums and communities.  

Some of Hannah's favorite authors include Philip Pullman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Peter F. Hamilton.  She also enjoys movies directed by Frank Capra and George Cukor.  Hannah says that a weird but true fact about her is that she own several functional typewriters, but not a smartphone.

Hannah will be helping oversee the poster sessions and is looking forward to connecting with anthropologists and students from across the country.

This week's Santa Fe spotlight is on Brandi Newton!

Brandi Newton is a first year anthropology graduate student, from Tacoma, WA, who earned a BFA with a concentration in painting and a minor in Art History at the University of Memphis in 2015. She graciously offered her artistic capabilities in creating the banner that you see on the front page of this campaign and in an earlier update!  Brandi's research interests are in breastfeeding practices and related policy, the ethics of advocacy campaigns, and birthing practices in the United States.  

Brandi's favorite book is Ways of Seeing by John Berger and her favorite director is Rob Reiner.  A few years ago Brandi and her husband were on the television game show Let's Make a Deal and won a car!

Brandi is presenting a poster on the experience of four breastfeeding women in the Mid-South.  Brandi is looking forward to her first anthropology conference!

This week's Santa Fe spotlight is on Rebecca Johnson!

Rebecca Johnson is a first year anthropology graduate student, from Stamford, CT, who earned a BA in Anthropology with a Minor in Political Science at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2013.  Rebecca's research interests consist of child development, children's health, youth programs, and women's sexual and reproductive health.

In her free time, Rebecca enjoys watching films directed by Matthew Gray Gubler, reading Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, and collecting salt and pepper shakers.

For the SfAA conference, Rebecca will be presenting her paper on the factors that influence women's contraceptive choices, specifically focused on why women decide to continue, change, or discontinue long-acting reversible contraception.  She is most excited about meeting professionals in her area of research and to spend time in sunny Santa Fe!

This week's Santa Fe spotlight is on Jordan Goss!

Jordan Goss is a first year anthropology graduate student, from Marion, AR, who earned a BA in Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Memphis in 2016.  Her research interests include food systems, food security, food access and availability, food choices, perceptions of food, and access disparities.  

Jordan's favorite directors are Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton; she also enjoys reading all of the 'classics', such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  While in New Orleans celebrating her birthday, Jordan and her mother took a picture with the well-known local "Vampire Guy" on Bourbon Street.

Jordan will be presenting her undergraduate thesis on food access and food choices in two socioeconomically different census tracts in Memphis.  She is thrilled to be attending her first anthropology conference, being able to network with professionals, and enjoying Santa Fe weather!

Thanks to all of your supportive donations we have reached 55% of our goal; this is incredible!  We still have 22 days left to go before the campaign ends so if you haven't donated yet you have plenty of time left!  Also, don't forget to share this funding page on all of your social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and a page link) so that the impact of what we are accomplishing can grow.

Check out some of our other updates for the "Weekly Spotlight" pieces that feature a graduate student going to the SfAA conference!  This gives you the opportunity to become familiar with the students that you are helping, including their hometowns, fun facts, previous educational institutions, research interests, and work they are presenting at the SfAA conference.

This week's Santa Fe spotlight is on Hamda Khan!

Hamda Khan is a second year anthropology graduate student, from Lahore, Pakistan, who obtained a BSc in Chemistry, Zoology, and Botany at the University of Punjab in 2014.  Her research interests consist of Medical Anthropology, women's health Issues, health disparities, and immigrants health.  

Although people often refer to Hamda as a workaholic, she still enjoys the book Goodbye Mr. Chips by James Hilton and Ridley Scott films.

Hamda is presenting a poster on the barriers of receiving prenatal care, specifically aimed at the underserved populations in Memphis. She is overjoyed to be attending her first anthropology conference and is looking forward to meeting and connecting with professionals in her area of research.

This week's Santa Fe spotlight is on Hannah Early!

Hannah Early is a first year anthropology graduate student from Stuyvesant, New York, who received her BA in Sociology and Anthropology with a Minor in Psychology at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania in 2014.  Her interests consist of education policy and reform, access to education, social inequality, and issues of identity and representation.

Hannah enjoys reading It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, watching Whale Rider, and walking her cat outside on it's leash.

While in Santa Fe, Hannah will be presenting her paper on the federal policies regarding students experiencing homelessness in the U.S. public school system.  She is very excited for her first conference and for her first time in New Mexico!

Hello All!

This is the beginning of our month long campaign seeking donations to send 13 of our graduate students to the SfAA conference and I'm delighted that you have chosen to join us!  We have only been 'Live' for one day and have already raised 35% of our goal!  The Anthropology Department thanks you from the bottom of our hearts.

(If you haven't joined us yet...what are you waiting for?!)  Donations are simple and easy to make!  Just look to the right of this update for the easy access donation boxes.  If you do not want to donate any of the amounts that are listed just click them anyway and it will take you directly to the donation page where you can enter the specific amount you want to donate!  There is also a large blue box urging you to "Donate Now" above this update that will also take you directly to the donation page!

Stay tuned for weekly updates about some of the graduate students that are planning on attending  the conference!

Our graduate students are extremely excited about the conference and with your help we can make sure each student is able to attend.

This year the Society for Applied Anthropology conference is in Santa Fe, NM, and 13 of our Anthropology graduate students are planning to attend. These students are presenting papers, posters, and volunteering their time for training poster sessions. The majority of these students have never attended an anthropology conference and are greatly looking forward to the experience, while some of them are last year students attending their last conference as a Memphis Tiger! Join us in helping send our 13 graduate students to the SfAA conference!

Picture Details:

First Row: Hamda Khan, Hannah Clevenger, Risa Sakai, Megan Wilkinson, Hannah Early, and Brandi Newton

Second Raw: Lyndsey Pender, Joyce Harris, and Jordan Goss

Third Row: Rebecca Johnson and Sara Tornabene

Not Pictured: Nadine McLean and Kendra Vaughn

Special thanks to Brandi Newton for creating the banner and providing paint for the banner signatures!

Our graduate students have been fortunate to attend SfAA conferences in the past in Seattle, Washington in 2011, in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2014, and in Vancouver, Canada in 2016! Our Anthropology Department is like a close knit family which is why students and faculty will get together for meals during conferences to celebrate the experience. (See the pictures below for a look inside our Anthropology family!) 

These conferences allow graduate students to build professional development skills such as presenting their work to a national audience, networking with fellow anthropologists, and securing careers post graduate school.  By donating, you can help our current group of graduate students make their way to Santa Fe, New Mexico for the 2017 conference!