Honors anthropology student Jenifer Lewis grew up on a reservation in New York where her grandmother taught her the importance of cultural revitalization to Native communities. She always knew she wanted to go into anthropology or archaeology and was excited when a family move gave her the opportunity to study at UCCS, where she completed an honors thesis on paradoxes in NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) after an internship at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. After graduating from UCCS, Ms. Lewis first worked as an archaeologist before being hired as the Interagency Tribal Liaison for the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. Her advice for students? “Do it! You’re not going to be successful if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing. Follow what you believe in.”

As an undergraduate at UCCS, Kimberly Bailey began as an English Lit major but quickly realized she preferred a more scientific approach to understanding human behavior. After taking an archaeological field school with Dr. Minette Church, she realized she could make a career out of "real grit anthropology." After graduating, she and fellow UCCS alumna Amie Gray launched a cultural resource management company, AK Pioneer Consulting, that conducts environmental and archaeological compliance survey work for a wide range of organizations. What does she like most about the work? "I help preserve what's important," she states, adding that she loves knowing that she is an important mentor for a growing community of archaeologists in Colorado, many of whom are also UCCS alumni.