Current Graduate Students
Kaylee Kinst
B.A. Biological Anthropology, Interdisiplinary
Languages Spoken: Cantonese, French, German, Hindi, Punjabi
Interests: Sociobiological anthropology, Cultural geographies, Ethnosemantics, Experimental Anthropology, Health Politics Ballet.
Places Traveled: Ireland
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Learning, implementing, researching, and scaffolding, anthropological concepts for future generations.
Tiffany Williams
B.A. Anthropology SJSU, AA Anthropology Cabrillo Community College, AS Accounting
Cabrillo Community College, AA Liberal Arts Cabrillo Community College
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: Cultural Anthropology, Historical Archaeology, California Indigenous, American Indigenous, urban gardening, traveling to learn of different cultures, and spending time with family.
Places Traveled: Wales, England, Mexico, Canada, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Continuing my education to apply anthropological knowledge to current and past cultures, and involvement in projects like NUMU and Quicksilver New Almaden.
Alex Apffel
BS Chemistry, PhD Chemistry
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: Family, reading, history, sketching and watercolors.
Places Traveled: Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Discovering ideas I didn't know that I didn't know!
Lizzie Davidson
B.A. Anthropology
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: Research interests include bioarchaeology, paleoarchaeology, osteology, zooarchaeology, political anthropology, sociocultural controls and propaganda, human sexuality and identity, human evolution. Personal interests include hiking, travel, cooking, and music festivals
Places Traveled: Mexico, Cuba, Bahamas, Nevis and St. Kitts, Alaska
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I'm looking forward to deepening my understanding of current interests, exploring new areas of research, and gaining new experiences overall.
Benjamin Zhou
B.A. Anthropology
Languages Spoken: English and Chinese
Interests: Anthropology, languages, structuralism, social reproduction, disability, gender, nationalism, and more.
Places Traveled: Massachusetts, Malta, China, and California
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I look forward to learning from the older and younger generations.
Koh Smoger
B.A. Anthropology
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: Culture, Comparative Religion, World Travel, Tourism Industries, Architecture, East Asian Studies, Oscar Winning Cinema, Natural Scenery and Sports.
Places Traveled: India, Antartica, Belize, Guatemala, Italy, Greece, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, England, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Hawaii, Chile, Mexico, Canada and Argentina
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: My opportunity to expand my knowledge and further my career.
Bailey Anna Kitchen
B.A. in Anthropology & History of Art
Languages Spoken: English (native), Russian (high beginning), French (intermediate)
Interests: Academic: biophilic design, design anthropology, sustainable development, city planning, public health, evolution of human behavior, globalization
Personal: yoga, hiking, camping, skiing, gardening, collecting art, thrifting, reading, writing, singing, museums, films, music, animals
Places Traveled: France, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Kauai, Oahu, 11 mainland states & Washington, D.C.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I’m looking forward to deepening my understanding of anthropology in practice and spending time with inspiring people who share my passion!
Devyani Dhruva
B.A. in Design, P.G. Diploma in Design (Master's degree or equivalent)
Languages Spoken: English (native), Hindi (native), Kannada (Novice)
Interests: My interests include analogue photography, museum tours, art appreciation, storytelling, anime, and writing prose.
Places Traveled: I was born in New Delhi, India, and made San Francisco my home in 2019. Over the years, I have backpacked across Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar and visited several provinces in Turkey, Egypt, and Japan.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: At this stage in my life, grad school brings both hope and joy in the pursuit of learning. I am looking forward to deepening mixed methods research skills while maintaining my passion for ethnography and qualitative inquiry. I am excited to explore my interests more deeply and to engage in thoughtful dialogue with my cohort and faculty.
Aaron Loss
B.A. Anthropology
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: Reading, Music, Games, Fitness, Animals
Places Traveled: Alaska, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cambodia, Nepal, India, Turkey, Greece, and Ireland
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I’m looking the most forward to working with a group of anthropology academics that come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences
Autumn White
BA Anthropology and BA Pictorial Arts (SJSU); AA Anthropology, AA-T Anthropology, AA Behavioral Science (West Valley Community College)
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: I am interested in funerary archaeology, historical archaeology, experimental archaeology (especially applied to recreating art methods: lithography, bronze casting, oil and tempura paint fabrication, textile arts), cemeteries, creepy little dolls, insect taxidermy, black metal, death metal, doom metal, painting, and silkscreen printmaking. I enjoy organizing art markets, public lectures, and exhibitions that democratize public access to fine art education. I also make simplified versions of archaeology research papers as hand-bound and illustrated zines to hand out at these events.
Places Traveled: Regrettably, I haven't traveled much: but I regularly take day trips to survey, photograph, and map cemeteries.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Having more support in designing and documenting research.
AnNih Hernandez Marquez
B.A. Anthropology
Languages Spoken: English and Spanish
Interests: Disasters, Anarchist Theory, Myths and their role in the Production of Gender in Horticultural and Hunter and Gatherer Societies, Neurodiversity, Disability, and Rewilding.
Places Traveled: Chihuahua, Mexico and Mexico City.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I am hopeful of making connections with people who are interested in research on gender and on disaster preparedness and relief. I think that these topics are constantly becoming more and more relevant as climate change is speeding up ecological devastation.
Tyler Edwards
Associate of Arts in Anthropology, Bachelor's of Arts in Anthropology
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: Maritime Archaeology, Historic Archaeology, Feminist Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, International Prehistory
Places Traveled: Czech Republic and United Kingdom
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: To learn advanced Anthropological Theory, work on a project or write a thesis, and establish myself as a learned scholar.
Patty Tapia
B.A. Anthropology
Languages Spoken: Spanish and English
Interests: Arts and crafts
Places Traveled: Mexico and Hawaii
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Advancing in my career
Michael Huggins
B.S. Computer Science and Engineering
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: running and hiking
Places Traveled: Rome, London, Paris, Lisbon, various places in the US (some of my faves are New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago and Honolulu)
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Everything! I come to this field a bit late in life and want to soak everything in.
Theodore Almira
B.A. in Anthropology
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: I make art of all kinds like drawing, painting, sewing, needlefelting, 3d modeling, papercraft, and clay sculpting. I love making things that are goofy and cute! I also like talking about world and local politics, history, religion, and folklore.
Places Traveled: I have been to the Philippines multiple times to visit family. I mainly visit Manila, Pangasinan, and Iloilo, but I've seen other parts of the country. I also spent a month living in Germany. I spent about a week in Munich, a week in a town by the Rhine River called Bacharach, and two weeks in a town near Bielefield called Herford. I also like to travel around California, from Redding, to Sacramento, to San Diego. I hope to see more of this world in the future.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I am most looking forward to participating in more hands on projects that involve the people of San Jose. I was born and raised in San Jose and a lot of the projects conducted by the Anthropology Department involve local populations and organizations. I am excited to learn more about and help my neighbors.
Sam Bass
B.A. in Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Language Spoken: English
Interests: Food Culture, Travel, Hiking, Cooking, Mountain Biking, Maps, Trees, Old Cities, 90 Movies, Museums, and Cats.
Area of Expertise: Writing/Editing and (Aspirationally) Economic Anthropology and Anthropology of Food.
Past Research: Ethnographic Explorations of Housing, Homelessness, Gentrification, Bordering Practices, Market Ideology and Property in the greater Bay Ar\ea, Research on Regional and Immigrant Food Cultures as an assertion of (or challenge to) National Identities and Narratives.
Perhaps wisdom... is realizing how small I am, and unwise and how far I have yet to go. – Anthony Bourdain
Spencer
B.A. in Anthropology from San Francisco State University
Languages Spoken: English (Native), French (Novice), and German (Novice)
Interests: Mesoamerican Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, The Aztec Triple Alliance, The Maya, Teotihuacan, Cross- Cultural Interactions (and their influences on cultures), Ming China, Early Showa Japan, History, Fashion, Subculture (especially internet-based ones), Religion, Mythology, Virtual identities and their Construction, Foxes
Jonathan Santaella
B.A. in Anthropology from San Jose State University
Language Spoken: Spanish (Fluent), English (Fluent), and Japanese (Novice)
Interests: My interests include cultures, languages, and food. Passionate about the sociocultural structure in restaurant and bars. I have a strong interest in forensic anthropology as well and love to learn about traditionsm and rituals revolving around death across cultures.
Past Research: Mosaic America Virtual Atlas
Jario Ivan Rosas Heredia
B.A. in Anthropology from San Jose State University
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese
Interests: Hiking, basketball, soccer, video games, traveling, stadiums, climate change, disasters, fan culture, food, history
Places Traveled: Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Chech Republic, Vatican, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau, Hong Kong
Sammer Abu Alragheb
B.A. in Film & Digital Media from California State University
Los Angeles, A.A. in Journalism from Cabrillo Community College
Languages Spoken: English (Native), Arabic (Native), and French (Novice)
Interests: Ethnography Archaeology/Underwater & Maritime Archaeology. History of the Golden
Age of Piracy, swimming, video games, history of the Transatlantic Slave Expansion,
classical music, black metal, death metal, thrash metal, heavy metal, philosophy (ethics,)
guitar, bio-anthropology, screenwriting, filmmaking, film production, chess, human
behavior (condition), storytelling, Egyptian, Greek & Norse
myth, & socializing with ones community
Places Traveled: Jordan, had the opportunity to visit many ancient cities and historical sites, including but not limited to Petra, Jarash, Roman Theater, Temple of Hercules in the Citadel, Qasar al Mashatta (Winter Castle) the Kharana, Castle, Aqaba. Sinai Peninsula. The Red Sea. Channel Islands.
Past Reasearch: Ethnography on the homeless population ethnography on story and characters for a historical film, archaeology on a neolithic manufacturing (chert) site c. 8k BC.
Chloe Nguyen
B.A. in Behavioral Science from San Jose State University
Languages Spoken: Vietnamese and English
Interests: Archaeology, Forensic Anthropology, Cultural
Anthropology, Economic Anthropology, Vietnamese
Cultures and History
Places Traveled: Vietnam, Thailand, and Hawaii
Past Research: Effects of Cumulative Disasters of Social
Support and Mutual Aid Among San Jose State Students
during the Covid Epidemic
Elizabeth "Lizza" Popova
B.S in Marketing, San Diego State University. Minors in Interdisciplinary Studies
and French
Languages Spoken: Russian, English, French (Intermediate), Spanish (Beginner)
Interests: Medical and business anthropology, political economy, healthcare management and finance, ethics, health and femme tech, comparative governmental studies, aquascaping, terrariums, botany, and mycology.
Places traveled: North and Central America, Europe, Balkans, Eurasia, Macaronesia.
Past Research: Regional Market Demand for Second-hand and Thrift Stores in San Diego (not published)
Mayela Sanchez
B.A. from San Jose State University; A.A. from De Anza College / Foothill College
Languages Spoken: Spanish, English
Interests: I like to go foraging and learn about state parks. I travel often to be exposed to new environments. I enjoy, reading, gaming, and going to museums.
Places Traveled: Mexico, Nicaragua, Grenada, Dominican Republic, England, Denmark, Ireland, France, Belguim, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, and parts of the United States outside of California.
Past Research: I have been a part of the Los Altos History Museum's Oral History Committee's research into their oral history archives for digital archiving.I participated in the 2023 Colfax Lime Kiln Site archelogical field school with Dr. Meniketti to uncover any artifacts of human habitation.
James Fernandez
B.A. in Anthropology: Biological and Archaeological Science at Cal State East Bay
Languages Spoken: English and Italian
Interests: Maritime Archaeology, Underwater Archaeology, Historical and Classical Archaeology, Southwestern Archaeology, cooking, surfing, hiking, SCUBA, music, Fire Ecology, Anthropology of religion, Primate Ecology, Linguistic Anthropology
Places Traveled: Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, all mountain states, Midwest, Florida, Hawaii, Caribbean
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Refining my academic and archaeological skills, community outreach opportunities, and developing a thesis project
Chloe Januar
B.A. in Evolutionary Anthropology at University of California, Davis
Lanuages Spoken: English and Bahasa Indonesia
Interests: Primatology, Indigenous studies, Zooarchaeology, Human Evolution, Geography, Paleontology, baking, makeup/skincare, kpop, video games, collecting trinkets
Places Traveled: Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Australia, 11 US states
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Meeting peers with similar interests!
Jaymi Mcginn
B.A. in Anthropology at San Jose State University
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: History, Art, Music, Writing, Reading, Cooking, Baking, Gardening, Traveling, Dancing, Singing
Places Traveled: Idaho, Utah, Montana, Maryland, Washington D.C., Ireland, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Scotland, Nevis/St.Kitts, Puerto Rico
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I look forward to building up a strong theoretical and applied understanding of anthropology that I can use to develop my own research projects and publications. I am also looking forward to the challenge of critically engaging with course material and improving my writing. With the skills I will gain in the graduate program I hope to be a more well-rounded anthropologist which greatly benefit in my future career in the field.
Kenneth Woods
B.A. in Anthropology at Georgetown University
Languages Spoken: English, some French
Interests: Politics, TV, baseball, traveling, urban development
Places Traveled: I've been to 37 US states. I've also been to France, the UK, Italy and Toronto in Canada
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I'm looking forward to meeting like minded individuals to conversate with, learn from, discuss and think about the future of our world in diverse ways.
Jaime Konsitzke
A.A-T. in Anthropology, B.A. in Anthropology at De Anza College & San Jose State University
Langauges Spoken: English
Interests: Travel, the outdoors, weightlifting, yoga, ballet, running, hiking, trail running, birdwatching, cooking, theater, and politics. I love reading several books at once, most of which focus on my interests in medical anthropology, archaeology, ethnography, historical archaeology, environmental anthropology, and mutual aid.
Places Traveled: Every corner of North America
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I look forward to deepening my understanding of anthropological theory and building partnerships with my cohort, the SJSU faculty, and local organizations.
Gayle Mclaughlin
B.S. in Psychology at Bridgewater State University
Langauges Spoken: English and a little bit of Spanish
Interests: Politics, anti-war and solidarity activism, social justice, environmental health and justice, hiking, reading, movies and the arts.
Places Traveled: Spain, Ecuador, Cuba, and various places across the U.S.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: Learning from the past and problem-solving for the future.
Sharon Sue Klass
B.A. In Anthropology at San Jose State University
Languages Spoken: English
Interests: Biological and Cultural Anthropology. I love the ocean and exploring marine tide pools. I am an avid reader and enjoy the art of quilting. I also enjoy exploring museums and have season tickets to the San Francisco Ballet.
Places Traveled: Ireland, Wales, Canada, and Mexico. Domestically, I love national parks and exploring new places.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I love to learn and am a lifelong learner. I am excited to develop my ethnographic research skills further and work with my cohorts who share my passion for making a difference in the world. "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tune without the words - and never stops at all." Emily Dickinson
Serena Mueller
B.A. In Anthropology and Sociology at University of California, Santa Cruz
Languages Spoken: English, French
Interests: I enjoy reading, cooking, and botany/plant care
Places Traveled: I’ve travelled all around the United States, but most recently, I’ve spent the past two summers in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania working on Roman-Dacian Settlement excavations.
What are you most looking forward to in grad school?: I’m looking forward to the academic challenges and watching ideas come to fruition.
