Allison Apland, an MSU Honors College member double majoring in anthropology and history, has been nominated for the Beinecke Scholarship.
The scholarship is awarded to students pursuing graduate study in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Apland, a junior from West Des Moines, Iowa, who graduated from Valley High School, has served as a research assistant and teaching assistant in her time at MSU. She currently researches food insecurity and coping strategies in Kenya in the MSU Anthropology Lab.
“Allison has demonstrated an excitement for research, both in her current lab and in her previous work for an MSU Zoology lab,” said Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, dean of the MSU Honors College. “Graduate school is a natural pathway for Allison to advance her expertise and we wish her the best in those endeavors.”
Apland volunteers for several activities and groups, including MSU Museum Archaeological Collections and MSU Science Fest. She’s a member of the MSU Anthropology Club.
If awarded the Beinecke scholarship, Apland will receive $4,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. She plans to earn a doctoral degree in anthropology or Near Eastern studies.
“My goal for graduate school is to study bioarchaeology in a program that focuses on Egypt of the Near East,” Apland said. “I am specifically interested in conducting research that brings together biological questions with information about society and culture in the archaeological record. My interest in archaeology stemmed from the way it provided an overlap between my two majors, anthropology and history.”