In April, we hosted our second annual Career Night so that current students could hear about the many different paths that can be included as answers to the question we hear so often: What can you do with an anthropology degree? Five anthropologists who have chosen different paths outside of academia—all department alumni or friends—offered sage advice for the students.
The five panelists, who shared their experiences, insights and suggestions, were: Nasteha Ali Muse, BA, who graduated from our program last year and now works as a health educator and navigator at the Refugee Women’s Alliance and Swedish Hospital. Bob Kopperl, PhD, is a senior archaeologist and principal investigator at a cultural resource management consulting firm, SWCA Environmental Consultants. Adriana Nodal, BA, serves as a translator and project manager at Quorum Review, an independent company conducting ethics reviews for research on human subjects. Kirsten Senturia, PhD, is a medical anthropologist with her own consulting firm who conducts a host of community-based program evaluations and assessments. Nelle Steele, MA, a Senior User Experience Researcher at Microsoft, focuses on creating “delightful software experiences for users.”
Dozens of students—from the UW and other regional institutions—listened to our guests talk about the paths that took them from the university classroom to their current work, and how they find themselves drawing on their anthropology education in their work on a daily basis. Students also asked for—and received—a host of practical tips, from where to look for the right job to how to market one’s skill set as a broadly trained anthropologist so as to respond to different employers.
Having now offered two successful Career Night events, we look forward to many more. We also anticipate seeing many from this year’s graduating class return to join us in the future to help other students answer the question: “What can you do with an anthropology degree?”
Photo captions
- Audience members at Career Night
- Department chair, Janelle Taylor, offering welcome remarks at Career Night
- Panel members (l to r): Kirsten Senturia, Adriana Nodal, Bob Kopperl, Nelle Steele, and Nasteha Ali Muse