Anthropology major’s internship experience featured in illustrated article in Anthropology News

Kayla Stevens ’23, a senior anthropology major at The College of Wooster, recently shared her experience as a Louise Lamphere Intern in Washington, D.C. in an illustrated article in Anthropology News. This program provides students with an opportunity to engage with anthropology outside the classroom and allowed Stevens to split her time between the offices of the American Anthropological Association and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH). 

Co-written by Stevens and her fellow intern Jeannette Lombardi, a graduate student at Syracuse University studying biomedical forensic science, and illustrated by artist Charlotte Corden, the article shows a day in the life of Stevens and Lombardi at their internship experiences with the AAA and their field sites. It highlights several projects that Stevens completed over the course of her internship, including updating educational content for the World on the Move public education exhibit and interviewing participants of the CFCH’s Earth Optimism x Folklife program to evaluate the impact of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The illustrations were then created based on photographs taken by Stevens and Lombardi over the course of their internships.  

“Having the opportunity to stay in touch with the AAA through our work on the Anthropology News article was wonderful, and I’m so happy with the final result,” Stevens said.  

When she returned to Wooster, Stevens had the opportunity to apply what she learned both to her academic work and extracurriculars. She used her newfound confidence in conducting ethnographic research through interviews in her Independent Study project, where she analyzed how Marie Kondo’s book on decluttering the home, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, shares Japanese culture with an international audience and how it is interpreted by non-Japanese U.S. audiences. Stevens also interns as a museum assistant at the College of Wooster Art Museum. She runs the museum’s social media accounts, organized the “Jazz at the CWAM” performance series, and will soon plan events related to the opening of a new short film installation titled “Lake Valley.” 

Stevens is also involved on campus as the co-president of the Sociology/Anthropology Club and as a clarinetist in the Scot Marching Band, Scot Symphonic Band, and Wooster Symphony Orchestra. As for the future, Stevens says, “I’m not sure exactly what comes next, but I know I want to continue exploring and applying anthropology in my work. I’m particularly interested in exploring careers related to cultural institutions like museums and libraries.”  

Posted in News on March 23, 2023.