This year Adriana Lesiuk, Audrey Westmoreland and myself had the opportunity to attend and present at the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference held in Ocean City, Maryland alongside Professor Sanford. The Department of Historic Preservation had many representatives there besides ourselves including Jordan Brothers, Beth Haver, and Luan Cao. Besides current students there were numerous Historic Preservation alumni and adjunct faculty, many of which presented papers. The conference gave us the chance to present the research that we have been collecting and analyzing for months on the slave quarter at Walnut Valley Plantation in Surry County. Not only was this rewarding, but so was getting to watch fellow students and archaeologists present their work on projects they have conducted throughout the region. We were able to expand our knowledge on different areas of archaeology, techniques, and new technology used in archaeology. A huge advantage that came out of the conference was the networking that occurred between presentations and at the final reception. Getting our names out to professionals in the field is helping us line up possible jobs or internships for the future. This conference is recommended for anyone interested in the field of archaeology and it is guaranteed to be a good time for those who attend! We want to thank the Center of Historic Preservation and the Department of Historic Preservation for allowing us the opportunity to be a part of this event!
– Ally Campo ’11