Gettel '12 Awarded Fulbright Grant to Study Social Archaeology in UK

Eliza Gettel ’12, of Merrimack, N.H., has received a Fulbright grant to pursue a master of arts in social archaeology at the University of Southampton in the U.K. next year. Before commencing the one-year postgraduate studies program, the classics major will travel to London for a three-day Fulbright orientation in September.

“Social archaeology uses material culture to study interpersonal relationships and the connection between people and objects,” she says.

During her Fulbright year, Gettel, who is in the College Honors Program, will build upon her two undergraduate theses and study the influence of antiquity on modern Greek politics. In addition, she will continue her work with odea, ancient roofed theaters, which she has researched in Athens and Rome during academic year abroad programs. Gettel has also spent time abroad on archaeological projects in Bir Madhkur, Jordan and Athens.

After her year at the University of Southampton, Gettel will return to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in classics and ancient history at Harvard University, where she has already been accepted.

Gettel plans to become a professor of classics, which will allow her to teach about the ancient world and its modern legacy.

“I aspire to become a professor who integrates historical and archaeological evidence to gain greater understanding of the ancient world and what it means to modern society,” says Gettel.

At Holy Cross, Gettel is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an academic honor society that celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, and is an executive member of Eta Sigma Phi, the national honorary collegiate society for students of Latin and Greek. Gettel serves her peers as a trained tutor in the on-campus Writer's Workshop and also works with first-year writers as a Writing Fellow through Montserrat. In addition, she is an active member of the Purple Key Society, a service organization that fosters school spirit, loyalty and enthusiasm through campus events.

Each year approximately 1,000 college students are awarded grants through the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship program in international educational exchange. Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception in 1946, more than 300,000 participants — chosen for their leadership potential — have had the opportunity to observe each other’s political, economic and cultural institutions.

Read about this year’s other Holy Cross Fulbright Grant recipients: Joseph Cavanaugh '12, Mattea Cumoletti '12, Caroline Galiatsos '12, Daniel Geiger '11, Heidi Grek '12, Maria Jaroszewicz '12, Jaeyeon Lee ’12, Courtney Lesoon '12, George Matthews '12 and Peter Renehan '12.