This is the third consecutive year Hamilton College has had students presenting at the SAA meetings. Professor of Archaeology Charlotte Becksaid, "This is remarkable in that undergraduates rarely even attend these meetings, much less present papers or posters. We believe that it is important to have students participate in these meetings because they learn how to present their information in a professional way and they come in contact with archaeologists who have national reputations."
When presenting a poster, the presenter must stand by the poster for four hours and discuss the project with viewers as they come by. In addition to presenting their scientific research, Kessler and Taylor had the opportunity to put into practice their communication training. Beck said, "We received a good deal of positive feedback from a number of archaeologists who viewed Amanda's and Becky's posters. They were particularly impressed with the sophistication of the projects and the knowledge about the subjects expressed by our students. They were also impressed by the fact that undergraduate archaeology students from Hamilton are getting professional preparation."
Hamilton's archaeology program, headed by Professors Tom Jones and Beck, is unique among small colleges. Beck explains it's special among all undergraduate archaeology programs in the professional training in communication given to Hamilton students. Reflecting this committment to teaching, Jones and Beck received the Ferguson Chair in the fall of 2000 and the Samuel and Helen Lang Prize for Excellent Teaching Award in the spring of 2001.
