News from The Mahurin Honors College

When Alexandria Anderson applied to Western Kentucky University (WKU), she thought of it as merely a safety school. She had never set foot on the campus, her only experience being a brief drive-by with her family on their way to the Corvette Museum. However, what began as a fallback option quickly transformed into a pivotal chapter in her life, steering her toward a career in biological anthropology and away from her childhood dream of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

Alexandria’s path took a significant turn when she participated in the Asylum Hill Field School in Jackson, Mississippi over summer 2024. This field school is part of the Asylum Hill bioarchaeological project, which focuses on uncovering the burials and remains of those interred at a cemetery associated with the former Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum. Operational between 1855 and 1935, the asylum moved locations, leaving behind a cemetery with thousands of unmarked graves, many of them rudimentary, belonging to patients with no family to claim their remains. The University of Mississippi Medical Campus unearthed about 60 graves during an expansion project approximately a decade ago, eventually revealing between 4,000 to 7,000 unmarked burials.

This discovery led to the creation of an educational opportunity for anthropology students. Alexandria joined the field school as part of its second cohort of students to enroll, where she and her peers gained hands-on experience in bioarchaeology. “We pretty much did everything the professional staff does,” Alexandria recalls. “We worked with a burial partner on excavating three burials, using small tools and archaeological excavation techniques, uncovering human remains, packaging and labeling them to be documented later, and then hopefully stored in a mausoleum or returned to descendants.”

For five weeks, she and her partner worked meticulously at the site. “We worked 8-4 Monday through Friday in the field. In the morning, we would go to the lab, get our buckets that held all our materials. We would head to the site, which is pretty much what you imagine—large mounds of dirt, large excavation pit, and we would set up tents, pull away tarps, and then we’d work on our burials.” The work was grueling but rewarding. “The first one I worked on with my partner, it took about a week and a half. For the subsequent ones, they got shorter, and my last one took four days.”

Her work at Asylum Hill not only gave her invaluable field experience but also sparked a shift in her academic focus. Originally on a pre-med track with a minor in Anthropology, she decided to upgrade her minor to a full major, joining her other majors in Biology and Health Sciences. Alexandria found herself drawn more deeply into anthropology, particularly biological anthropology. “In 4th grade, I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon because I really loved bones,” she shared. “But when I took an introduction to biological anthropology course, I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so interesting. I’m more interested in this than in any of the microbio or chemistry classes that I’m supposed to like for med school.’”

This epiphany this past spring marked the end of her childhood dream of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. “It was a difficult thing to come to terms with,” Alexandria admitted. “‘So, wait, what I’ve been telling everyone since I was eight isn’t true?’ But shocker, you can change your mind about things.”

This newfound interest led her to explore osteological research, particularly how human biology and culture influence each other, a core tenet of biological anthropology. Alexandria’s passion for this field is palpable when she discusses her current honors capstone project, which investigates the prevalence of osteoarthritis in rural Kentucky.

“I’m asking, ‘Are people in rural areas of Kentucky more afflicted by osteoarthritis?’ The answer is yes, but now, I’m examining the differences in comorbidities and how they affect rural patients more, and how osteoarthritis affects the idea of Southern culture, which people in these rural areas practice. It’s also a culture that is dependent on being mobile, like driving 30 minutes to church or participating in a quilting club. How do you pass down these traditions and cultural aspects of it when you are immobile?”

While Alexandria’s shift away from medicine was not easy, it was a necessary step toward finding her true passion. Her experience shadowing an orthopedic surgeon over summer 2023 only reinforced this shift. Although she found surgeries interesting, the clinical aspects seemed mundane. “I wanted to get to the core issue of why these patients had developed bone spurs or other issues that led them to seek an orthopedic surgeon,” she explained. “I’m looking to do research in osteological terms, in terms of how our biology can affect our culture and vice versa. I’m also interested in that from an evolutionary perspective—how did humans develop the ability to be mobile and do physical activities that allowed us to become the species we are today?”

With graduation on the horizon in May 2025, Alexandria is planning a gap year to gain more field experience, particularly in cultural resource management (CRM) across the southern United States. She also hopes to delve deeper into laboratory research, an area she has already begun to explore under the mentorship of biology professor Dr. Carl Dick at WKU.

“I worked in Dr. Dick’s lab, who does research on the evolution of ectoparasites on bats, and it was collections-based research. I was putting bat fly specimens in new jars, and doing that kind of work suggested to me that maybe museum collections may be interesting, [but] with fossils.”

Beyond her academic pursuits, Alexandria is deeply involved in the WKU community. She serves as an honors ambassador with the HonorsToppers, contributes to the WKU College Heights Herald, and is a senior leader in several student organizations. Despite being the only one from her class in small rural town to attend WKU, she has carved out a space for herself, using her unique background to advocate for rural communities and seize opportunities for growth.

“I’m still a voice for rural communities, who may not have the same opportunities,” she reflects. “I have grown in terms of confidence regarding my academics, my social life, and all of that can be attributed to the fact that I sought out more opportunities, whether in the form of going to honors events, becoming an HT [honors ambassador], or working at the Herald as the only person who was not a journalism major.”

Reflecting on her journey, Alexandria advises students to explore their interests fully, even if they seem unrelated to their career goals. “You don’t have to just do things that will help you on the career path,” she says. “I don’t think you have to ignore that, but I think you need to learn that there are things that you are interested in that may not be helpful to you at the time at all. When I came in, I didn’t join the Herald thinking it would be great on a medical school resume—that mindset is detrimental and limits your potential to discover if you are going to be interested in something else.”

Her advice is rooted in her own experiences, as she’s learned the value of balancing practicality with passion. “Choose a major or majors that you think will be helpful to your career,” Alexandria suggests, “but choose a minor or a club or something else that is your passion, that no one can tell you to make money off [of].”

Alexandria Anderson’s story is one of exploration, discovery, and change. From a safety school choice to a life-changing field experience, her journey highlights the importance of being open to new opportunities and following one’s passion. As she prepares for the next chapter, Alexandria continues to embody the spirit of curiosity and commitment that defines a true anthropologist, ready to uncover the stories that connect our past to our present. Her journey reminds us all that it’s okay to change directions and that sometimes, our path to fulfillment is found where we least expect it.