My interest in ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture led me to enroll in specific courses led by Dr. Kara Burns , such as Art of the Roman Empire, Roman Art, and Ancient Greek Art & Architecture, for which I developed a comprehensive understanding of the diverse art forms spanning from the Archaic period to the reign of Constantine the Great. In addition to the courses above, the most important courses that I was fortunate enough to have taken were Field Work in Archaeology and the Methodology and Theory classes for both archaeology and art history. These classes were critical in my development as a student because I obtained valuable knowledge relating to art historical and archaeological analysis, as well as acquiring the skills needed to be more efficient in academic research. These skills were most rigorously tested in the art history Directed Studies course led by Dr. Elizabeth Rivenbark, which focused on my thesis of analyzing Antoni
o Canovas civic monuments in terms of their socio-historical context being regarded as propaganda.
In addition to my academic research, I also was involved with many Phase I surveys and Phase III excavations. My most notable site investigations came from my Field Work in Archaeology course and working with Dr. Philip Carr at the University of South Alabama. These sites include the McInnis Site (BA664), Old Mobile (MB94), and Fort Mims (BA28). In addition, I worked with Dr. Gregory Waselkov on the ALDOT Project# DPI-AL06(900) (MB50) and was credited in the publication, Life at the Rivers Edge: Phase III Archaeological Data Recovery at Sites MB50 and MB5, Mobile, Alabama (208) edited by Bonnie L. Gums and Dr. Gregory Waselkov. In retrospect, these were extremely rewarding and profound experiences for me because I worked with great people and received excellent training in the practical recovery and analysis of artifacts and archaeological features.