Hello! I’m Stephanie Wanek and I am a senior Archaeology major from Ocean City, NJ.

When I first came to Lycoming I had planned to major in Psychology, but after taking an Archaeology class my first semester I knew I had found my perfect fit. By the end of my freshman year, I declared my major in Archaeology and that summer I headed off to the Mediterranean on Lycoming’s Expedition to Idalion, Cyprus. By the end of my first summer I was made an assistant supervisor and asked to return to the dig the following summer.

During my second year at Lyco, I continued my studies in Archaeology. My classes were both informative and interesting, such as the Old Testament, Biblical Archaeology, and the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East. These classes not only helped me learn more about the past, but also aided me in the field. So, during my second summer in Cyprus, and having been promoted to senior supervisor, I was able to take my classroom experience in lectures and text books and apply it to what I was excavating.

It was in my third year at Lycoming that my classes
became more in‑depth and focused. I was taking
my second language, Hebrew, and learning about
certain civilizations, like the ancient Greeks, as well
as preparing for my third summer at Idalion. It was
this past summer that I was given the position of
field supervisor and was now in charge of not only
the trench I was digging in, but also keeping tabs
on the other supervisors and their trenches.

I count my blessings every day to be given such an
awesome opportunity to be a part of the Lycoming
Expedition to Idalion, Cyprus. Working in the field
has helped me to see in real life what the text books
were talking about and it had made me a more mature
and responsible person. Plus, the knowledge that the professors and my dig director, Dr. Pamela Gaber, have passed on to me will help in my continuing education with grad school.