Jessica Seebauer
SUNY Geneseo
Geneseo, NY
Dear Smithsonian Women’s Committee,
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude for your generous support of my undergraduate research at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. As part of the Research Training Program (RTP), I not only was able to formulate and execute an independent scientific study under the direction of a well-respected, top-notch Smithsonian scientist, I gained confidence in myself as a potential researcher.
I have been working under the advisement of Dr. Stephen Ousley, Repatriation Lab Director, in the department of Anthropology. My research is fairly cutting-edge as I have been utilizing three-dimensional digitizing techniques to aid Native American repatriation efforts. The goal of my research is to better define our understanding of what makes breeding populations of humans unique and differentiable from other groups so that Native American human remains can be classified with a greater accuracy. Native American identification is important as all Native American remains housed in government-funded institutions, such as the Smithsonian, must be returned to proper tribal representatives under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990. The Smithsonian Institution, home of one of the world’s largest skeletal collections, has an entire department devoted to the analysis and return of Native American remains; hopefully, my research will make this task easier and more accurate.
As I am a recently graduated senior, my involvement in this program designed for undergraduates was made possible specifically through your generous funding. I feel this program is just as influential for graduated seniors as it is for those who still have to complete their undergraduate work, if not more so. I have already decided to continue a career in research, and my participation in the RTP has exposed me to methods of collecting and analyzing anthropological data which I will apply to future osteological studies.
I can honestly say that none of my experiences and successes here at the Smithsonian Institution would have been possible for me without the financial assistance provided by your committee, and for that reason I urge you to continue to support graduated seniors in programs such as this one. Your efforts to promote scientific education do positively influence aspiring scientists, as well as have an impact on their confidence and success: only through total immersion in the scientific community can an aspiring scientist realize her or his potential as a researcher.
Sincerely,
Jessica Seebauer
Research Training Program, 2002