UC grad student digs into unique internship opportunity

By Michelle Flanagan

It’s not every day that professional writing students find themselves working at an archaeological dig in Greece for one of the most significant projects of its kind. But last summer Kerry Ulm, a graduate student in the English department in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences, found herself on site in Pylos for an internship with UC’s Department of Classics.

“My background is not in classics,” Ulm said. But when she was contacted by Professional Writing program director and associate professor of English Lora Arduser about the internship opportunity, it turned out she was just right for the job.

“I majored in Globalization Studies in undergrad, which I found useful when exploring examples of Mycenaean trading practices through some of the objects we discovered this summer," Ulm said. "And I’m fascinated by museums, and would eventually like to work for one as an information designer, so in that respect, this position was a perfect fit.”

UC’s Classics Department has a team excavating the Mycenaean site known as the Palace of Nestor, an important center in Mycenaean times, so much so that Homer described it in "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad."

The current excavation by UC husband-wife team Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker, builds on previous work by UC Classics professor and influential American Classics scholar Carl Blegen. In 2015, Davis and Stocker discovered the grave of the Griffin Warrior, one of the most significant finds in Greek archaeology from the past 50 years. 

That revolutionary discovery didn’t mark the end of their work. With large areas that have yet to be explored, the duo are confident there is more to the story. For Ulm, this meant more chances to get in on the ground level of something revelatory.

Using her previous education as a building block for her future plans, Ulm was largely focused on communications around the project – which, despite it being an ancient site, are vital. 

“In preparation for announcements about future discoveries that we’re hopeful we’ll find, I was brought to Greece largely to improve upon the project’s online presence,” Ulm said. “The previous website was out-of-date, the social media was inconvenient for them to manage and the lengthy excavation seasons required by a string of discoveries meant they were in need of new ways to appeal to donors.”

Before Ulm could determine what a meaningful web presence would look like, she spent time with the team and at the site. Before any online changes were made, she had her boots on the ground, living and working alongside the rest of the team digging in the field. 

“After I became familiar with the process, I started redoing the website, managing the Facebook page and putting together newsletters that explained the discovery to a select group of donors and potential donors. I also prepared online material to last them through the next few months after the end of the summer season,” she said.

“I find the longevity of UC’s work at the site particularly interesting. And as a newbie to the field of archaeology, it was fascinating to experience an excavation site of such significance,” Ulm said.

View the website dedicated to the dig and the team's findings here.

Featured image at top: Archaeologists Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker with the team from UC's Classics department on site in Pylos, Greece. Photo/Jeff Vanderpool.