Student finds fulfillment as peer adviser, research and teaching assistant

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Rachel Storey connects her nuanced understanding of social, cultural, and archaeological anthropology with the numerous opportunities she explored inside and beyond the classroom.

The Leesburg, Virginia, native entered Penn State as an anthropology major who was excited to learn how the evolution of humans has influenced political spheres past and present. She will graduate this coming weekend with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, a minor in sexuality and gender studies, and a certificate in justice, ethics, and diversity in space. She will also serve as the anthropology major marshal at the College of the Liberal Arts’ spring 2023 commencement ceremony.

“Anthropology is a really unique major because it combines a lot of disciplines — archaeology, linguistics, biological concepts — that give you a taste of different understandings about humans with other disciplines it takes inspirations from, such as sociology, biology, and genetics, to get a very nuanced understanding of specific and general topics you don’t get from other majors,” Storey said. “I am interested in understanding different cultural groups and using my understanding of human evolution to inform and enrich my understanding of human dynamics and its interactions with law and current political issues.”

Storey began to explore the various spheres of anthropology in her first two years as a student, during which she took classes in archaeology, ancient civilizations, human nature, artifacts, and more. Three classes particularly stood out for her: ANTH 45N Cultural Diversity; ANTH 422 Mezzo-American Archeology; and ANTH 435 Ancient Economies.

Storey served as a teaching assistant for ANTH 45N under Douglas Bird, associate professor of anthropology, working alongside several other undergraduate teaching assistants to provide extra learning support for students. The tutoring and learning sessions Storey helped lead not only cemented her knowledge of class topics but allowed her to meet other Penn State students and help them succeed.

“Working with students one-on-one and breaking down the content into slightly more digestible and understandable tidbits allowed for a more manageable learning experience,” Storey said. “It allowed me to explain topics to students to enhance learning, and also reinforced them for me."

Storey served as a teaching assistant for ANTH 22 and ANTH 435 under Kenneth Hirth, professor of anthropology, during her senior year. For both classes, she took an active role in leading lectures both in person and virtually; she also proctored class exams and held office hours, which provided an opportunity for her to assist fellow students even more. Storey found those interactions, and seeing the academic progress made by those she worked with, especially rewarding.

“Being a teaching assistant taught me a lot about the undergraduate student experience and gave me additional insight into the workloads of students and professors. Seeing the progression of students in their work was rewarding.”

Storey also worked with Hirth as a research assistant on his faculty climate research project.

“My responsibilities really evolved over time,” Storey said. “I started with working with quids — ancient chewing tobacco — and was able to do three-dimensional teeth markings of those who chewed the quids. We sent those models to a lab in Europe, which was then able to get DNA samples,” Storey said.

Storey then worked on different environmental samples from the El Gigante region of Honduras that Hirth was studying to explore environmental landscape changes.

“I worked with ecofacts, primarily archeology photography, to create booklets that could be used in Dr. Hirth’s writing,” Storey said. “I also looked through hundreds, maybe thousands, of samples for archaeological dating to organize them from oldest to newest. We essentially were trying to identify the species and ages of the samples to get a better understanding of the environment at the time. These are thousand-year-old samples, so they give us a small snapshot of what life was like in El Gigante.”

These findings help create stomatic density curves which, along with previously collected leaf samples, help archaeologists and anthropologists understand parts of the environment, such as water and temperature, that might have been present at the time.

In addition to her teaching and research responsibilities, Storey has been a peer adviser for the college which has given her the opportunity to help students schedule courses and work on their academic plans. She also worked as a co-teacher for LA 83: First Year Seminar in the Liberal Arts, which allowed her to help first-year students in the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) explore basic humanities and social science foundations of learning.

Being a peer adviser also gave Storey the opportunity to work with Liberal Arts staff and faculty who were planning and hosting student events. That experience helped her develop a greater understanding and appreciation of what goes into planning and orchestrating community events.

“I’ve gained immense acknowledgment and gratitude for how much (faculty and staff) work to provide a meaningful student experience,” Storey said.

Storey also serves as the social media and community coordinator for Penn State’s Jewish Studies program. In this role, she has the chance to manage the program’s social media platforms and assist with planning various events, such as the recent celebration recognizing the publication of Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies Lior Sternfeld’s new book, “Jews of Iran: A Photographic Chronicle.”

Storey is thankful for the student experiences that have helped her expand her understanding of anthropology and the inner workings of the University. She is especially grateful to the faculty and staff who allowed her to get involved.

“Every opportunity that I wanted or sought out was able to happen because we have such incredibly dedicated faculty and staff who are supportive of students,” Storey said. “They put students first and ensure that any opportunity they would like to explore happens for them, whether it be research, teaching, or mentoring.”

Storey will begin a new position as an associate of public affairs and governmental affairs for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities after graduation and eventually plans to attend law school.

Liberal Arts Peer Advisers

Peer advisers are current Liberal Arts students who provide students with a connection to the College of the Liberal Arts and to peers within it. Peer advisers work closely with and are mentored by Liberal Arts academic advisers to provide students with information critical to the transition to college as well as opportunities for social and academic engagement.