June 10, 2015
It happens every morning. After hauling myself up the 99 steps to my office (yes, the elevator is still out and yes, I still count them) I end up standing outside my locked office door digging around in my purse for my keys. No matter what, my key ring is always the very last thing I find. How does that happen? How can it always be at the bottom? Why does it hide from me?
It’s not like I have a huge purse so it really shouldn’t be that hard. Here are all the things I had to dig through today to find my keys: a wallet (complete with Spartan helmet on it), my phone, my car key, a pair of reading glasses, a pack of gum, a thumb drive (also with Spartan helmet) two partially unwrapped pieces of gum, a mint, two purple pens, three lipsticks, one lip gloss, two tins of Lush perfume, two tickets to my niece’s graduation (which was last Sunday), a movie ticket (from two weeks ago), an eyeliner and mascara (never 
again, people, never again).
My purse is actually very small – I pared down years ago. It doesn’t even have extra pockets or zippers. Back in the day when I carried a much bigger purse I jammed so much useless stuff into it, I swear if I dug around enough I’d have found the Ark of the Covenant. And yet, it’s still a major excavation at my door every morning just to find that tiny silver ring with three keys on it. For the amount of time it takes, you’d think I was digging around the huge construction holes that are in front of Olds Hall right now.
The digs happening in front of Olds Hall and in my purse aren’t the only ones on campus this summer. Kristin Doshier is a senior majoring in anthropology is currently taking part in MSU's Campus Archaeology Field School. The Field School runs through July 1 on the campus of MSU as part of the Campus Archaeology Program. Students gain knowledge in archaeological field methods and usually find some pretty cool MSU artifacts along the way.
Read Doshier’s STUDENT VIEW: No, I’m Not Digging for Dinosaurs, to learn more about her experience with the program.
Robert Abramovitch isn’t physically digging, but every day that he enters his lab in the Physical Sciences Building, he is digging for answers. Abramovitch, an assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, and his team are researching new solutions for treating tuberculosis. While drug-resistant strains of TB are not usually found in the United States, Abramovitch says the motto in the field is, “TB anywhere is TB everywhere,” and those strains are only an airplane ride away. In fact a case was diagnosed this week in Maryland. Read his FACULTY VOICE: Illuminating Solutions, to learn more about his research.
Zachary Huang is another Spartan who is digging for answers. He’s determined to help find the threats to honeybees worldwide, which has become a very serious environmental problem. His research recently revealed that Varroa mites, the most serious threat, are infiltrating hives by smelling like bees. Read more about his research in MSUToday.
Regular school may be out for the summer around the country, but the work never stops for Spartans. Many students are using the summer like Doshier, to learn something new and try something different. Researchers like Abramovitch and Huang return to their labs every day searching for solutions. Who will keep digging for answers to solve the world’s big challenges? Spartans Will.
Lisa Mulcrone
Editor, MSUToday
@LMulcrone