Alumni

S. Margaret Spivey FaulkernS. Margaret (Maggie) Spivey Faulkner '08

Program: Archaeology
Field: Academia (Assistant Professor of Anthropology)
Webpage

When I arrived at Harvard, I did not have a clear vision of what I wanted for my future. As a first-generation college student, I also had no idea how to navigate the basics of a college experience. I maybe had some vague thoughts about becoming a lawyer, but that certainly did not help me narrow down what concentration I wanted to join. I found my way to the Anthropology Department by reading the then-paper Courses of Instruction book, highlighting every course I was interested in, and then choosing the concentration that had the most highlights. I certainly did not realize at the time the very way I had selected Anthropology was itself a demonstration of why I would thrive there.

Photo of Chris RodningChris Rodning '94

Program: Archaeology
Field: Academia (Professor of Anthropology, Tulane University)
Webpage

It is the best college major there is, and Harvard undergrads are lucky to have the professors and graduate students they can study with and interact with, as well as people and programs at the Peabody Museum. I am proud of having been an anthropology and archaeology concentrator at Harvard--and having gotten through...it is cool, it is interesting, and it is rigorous! I happen to think that students of archaeology and anthropology have to learn how to think about what life is like for people in the vastly different settings around the world in the past and present, and not only is that fascinating in and of itself, but learning how to understand the world from viewpoints that are different from our own is really valuable for anybody and everybody with any potential career goals and life interests.

Margaret Irving '17

Program: Social Anthropology
Allied concentration: Philosophy 
Field: Business / Tech
Website

My engaging experiences in the department inspired me to pursue further study. After graduating in 2017 I obtained my master’s in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology from the University of Oxford, with a dissertation examining the authenticity of digital reproductions of artifacts. I remained in the UK to work in corporate reputation at the PR agency Edelman.

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Communications interested me because it utilizes many skills ethnographers rely on, from considering the viewpoints of different stakeholders to understanding how values and beliefs impact how a brand is perceived.  Due to the pandemic, I’ve chosen to return to Canada and am now working at Ocean Capital, which operates businesses across a range of industries including construction, real estate, and broadcasting. I am supporting the management team in a rotational position, before matriculating at HBS in the fall of 2021 to pursue my MBA. I continue to be deeply interested in how anthropology’s methods and literature can be applied in business.

Kat Kearney '17

Program: Social Anthropology
Field: Arts

I'm still in Aotearoa New Zealand 3 years after graduation with the help of a travel fellowship through URAF. Anthro was definitely to thank for getting me to think globally. After dancing with a Pacific contemporary company for a year, I secured a government job with NZ's Arts Council. I work in the International Services team, with a focus on connecting NZ artists to the global arts sector through fairs, markets, and festivals.

Eric Lu PhotographEric Lu '09, HMS '16.

Program: Social Anthropology
Field: Media (Writer/Producer)
LinkedIn

Concentrating in Anthropology was one of the best decisions I made at Harvard. It has equipped and empowered me to understand the world more deeply and holistically, laying tracks for an unconventional but exciting career path and paying off currently in my work as a screenwriter.

Photo of Marissa MooreMarissa Glynias Moore '12

Program: Archaeology
Field: Arts (Executive Director, Piano Cleveland)
Website

My background as an anthro concentrator was (and still is!) incredibly important for me. My thesis project was my first real experience with academic research and I totally loved it - so much so that pursuing a PhD right out of undergraduate seemed like a fun and reasonable path (though now I would definitely recommend folks take time off). Even though I didn't land in academia, I use the critical thinking, writing, and ethnographic skills of anthropology every day in my job when I'm writing grants, talking to donors, or thinking about our long term strategy.

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I graduated with my PhD in ethnomusicology from Yale in 2018, and served as a Lecturer at Yale for the 2018-2019 school year. While I loved teaching the smart students at Yale and enjoyed my research, I was looking for a way to engage more with the public, and found that working in a non-profit setting was a better fit for me. I got very lucky and landed a position with Piano Cleveland, the organization that presents the Cleveland International Piano Competition - I started as a Development Officer, became the Director of Development, and was named the Executive Director of the organization in 2020.  I'm very excited to be in this new role as we grow the organization and deepen our engagement within all Cleveland communities.