From childhood, Claire Kenyon had her heart set on going to law school. She planned to fulfill general requirement classes at Allen County Community College while at Iola High School and then attend Washburn University in Topeka.
The recent Iola High graduate’s plan was altered her freshman year when she stepped into Travis Hermstein’s history class, which sparked an interest that led her to take an anthropology class at the college.
“Through my history and anthropology classes I just fell in love with archeology,” she said.
Kenyon, daughter of Trudy Kenyon Anderson, Russell Anderson and Robert Bellis, began looking at universities offering degrees in anthropology and narrowed her search to the universities of Colorado and Wyoming.
Wyoming University in Laramie won her heart with its large campus in a valley between the Rocky and Laramie Mountains.
“I applied for admission and for a scholarship to WU online in September and checked every day to see if I had been accepted,” Kenyon said.
In late October Kenyon’s answer came. She not only was accepted to the university but also was the recipient of a Rocky Mountain Scholars Scholarship which over the next four years will pay $20,000 on her tuition. She was awarded the scholarship based on ACT scores.
During a visit to the campus in February, Kenyon applied for a summer field study program even though she knew the session is usually reserved for juniors and seniors.
“I thought the field study would be a good jumpstart to my classes this fall, but I knew my chances of being accepted were slim,” she said.
To her surprise a letter arrived last week welcoming Kenyon into the summer program.
“They sent a two-page list of supplies that I needed to buy which included a tent, plumb bob, graph paper and warm clothing,” she said. “I did get a sleeping bag as a graduation present, which fortunately was also on the to-buy list.”
Kenyon will report to campus June 8 for the first session — surveying land around Pine Bluffs Stone Circle near the campus. The second session will be surveying land in and around Horse Creek Breaks and the Laramie Mountains.
Archeologists are needed to survey land in different parts of the country for a variety of reasons. If a new road is planned it has to be determined that its construction will not disturb burial grounds of Native American tribes, she said.
The third session, which concludes July 15, will be an intensive excavation at Vore Buffalo Jump in the Wyoming Black Hills.
“Did you know Native Americans would drive herds of buffalo over cliffs to kill them to make it easier to butcher them for their meat and hides?” Kenyon asked.
Kenyon plans to pursue a master’s degree and doctorate in archeology, which will take about 10 years to complete. She hopes to go on archaeological digs not only for Native American artifacts but also to search ancient ruins for Egyptian and Greek treasures.
She plans to double-major in history and anthropology, which will open doors for future employment which could include being a social science teacher, journalist or archival specialist for a museum.
“I think one reason I like history and archeology is because it is like a never-ending trivial pursuit game. I will always be searching for answers to questions,” she said.
Kenyon channels her inner ‘Indiana Jones’
