In an ideal world, I wouldn’t panic about any question asked and would answer everything beautifully and eloquently. This blog post is set in an ideal world. If an employer noticed archaeology on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and asked me about it, I would probably start by saying that it was one of the most challenging but deeply rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I would tell them that I spent roughly 3 weeks participating in the Antiochia ad Cragum Archaeological Research Project in T\u00fcrkiye, where I worked alongside St. Olaf, Brown, and Turkish archaeologists, professors, and students on site. Although archaeology might seem like a very specialized field, the experience taught me much more than just how to dig in the dirt. It strengthened my ability to work in teams, solve problems, communicate across cultures, and adapt to unfamiliar situations, all of which I believe to be valuable in almost any career.
One of the biggest things I learned while working in T\u00fcrkiye was how important teamwork is. Archaeology isn’t something you can just do on your own. Every part of the excavation depends on the team working together, communicating clearly, and trusting each other to do their jobs well. Whether we were digging, recording information in our notebooks, or cleaning pottery\/bones, everyone played an incredibly important role. I learned how to communicate effectively with my teammates, ask (so so many) questions when I needed clarification, and accept feedback to improve my work. It showed me how much can truly be accomplished when everyone is working toward a shared goal.
I also became much more detail-oriented. While working in the Acropolis, accuracy and precision are really important. We had to carefully document everything we found, follow specific excavation methods, and make sure our records were as accurate as they could be. That experience taught me to slow down, pay attention to details, and take pride in producing quality work instead of rushing through tasks like I tended to do in the Great Baths excavation.
Another part of the experience that really stood out was working with people from different cultural and educational backgrounds. At the Great Baths, I worked under Turkish leadership, and there were sometimes language differences or differing ways of approaching problems. Instead of seeing some of those differences as big obstacles, I became more confident communicating with people whose backgrounds were different from mine and learned how important it is to listen, be respectful, and stay open-minded. Living in T\u00fcrkiye for three weeks also gave me a much better understanding of the country’s culture, traditions, and daily life, which made me appreciate how valuable cultural awareness is in both work and everyday situations.
Even though I wasn’t in any leadership role while in T\u00fcrkiye, I also developed my skills as a leader and team player. Sometimes leadership simply meant taking initiative, helping someone who was struggling, or just checking in to see if everyone on the team was on the same page. As time went on, I became more comfortable speaking up for myself and especially with asking questions when it was needed.
One of the biggest personal takeaways from the experience was learning patience. Before coming here, I didn\u2019t think about how archaeology is a slow, careful field, and there usually aren’t instant results. I only thought about digging in the dirt and finding something amazing. That taught me that good work often takes time and that it’s worth being thorough rather than trying to finish as quickly as possible (unless it\u2019s a rescue excavation).
Overall, my time in T\u00fcrkiye wasn’t just about learning archaeology. It challenged me to become more independent, adaptable, and confident. Living and working in another country pushed me outside my comfort zone, but it also helped me grow both personally and professionally. I learned how to work with people from different backgrounds, communicate across cultural differences, stay organized under changing conditions, and contribute to a team working toward a shared goal.
I think those experiences would help me in almost any future career. Whether I’m working in archeology, research, or another field, I know I’ll be able to collaborate effectively, adapt to new situations, and approach problems thoughtfully. More than anything, my time in T\u00fcrkiye taught me that the best results come from being curious, working hard, teamwork, and being willing to learn from the people around you.
Then, when the interview is over, I\u2019ll go complain to my mom about how I spoke a bunch of nonsense, and there\u2019s no way I got the job. <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In an ideal world, I wouldn’t panic about any question asked and would answer everything beautifully and eloquently. This blog post is set in an ideal world. If an employer noticed archaeology on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and asked me about it, I would probably start by saying that it was one of the most challenging but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5726,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Iz8A-ZT","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3837"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3937,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3837\/revisions\/3937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/antiochia2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}