Graduate Interview: Savana Deems, Project Manager/Archaeologist

KENNESAW, Ga. (Sep 25, 2018) — Savana Deems graduated with a B.S. degree in Anthropology from Kennesaw State University in 2016, and is currently a Project Manager/Archaeologist at Environmental Corporation of America (ECA). When Deems first began working at ECA, she was a Tribal Consultant and Project Manager, a position that she says was more cultural anthropology focused as it required Deems to consult federally recognized tribes about proposed construction projects. She would contact tribal leaders and consult with them about the projects to ensure that nothing of religious or cultural significance was impacted. Now, her current position allows Deems to get out into the field: “We handle a lot of federal projects and I'm assigned different projects across the U.S. I handle everything from conducting interviews and notifying newspapers, to doing the archaeology and writing all reports that go into a new project with federal government.”

Deems enjoyed her time at KSU, especially, “the sense of community and diversity and involvement. It was just such a such a happy place. There was so much to get into and so many new people to meet…It's a very eclectic community. I think that helped shape me a lot. And the professors, they're fantastic, I loved all of my professors so much.” She says that, “I think that for me, anthropology has furthered the idea that I had that all humans are equal, that we're a family…even though we may come from different cultures and backgrounds.”

Networking and making connections helped Deems land her job; a good friend that she had worked with at a different CRM company took her resume and helped her get the interview that led to her current position. Deems’ advice to undergraduate students is simple: Get out there. If you want to go into archaeology, she recommends taking Field Techniques to get your feet wet. “Get out there and make connections. Not only finding a mentor or a professor that you can work with, but also get to know other people. All of the connections, all of the people you meet, you never know when that's going to come back around. It helps you grow as a person, you explore other avenues of working and doing when you have a community.”

Anthropology Alumni Dani Alexander (class of 2018) conducted and drafted the anthropology interviews as part of a practicum project.