SARAH COFFEY SARAH COFFEY

She initially worked on the field excavations before transitioning to the lab full-time in April 2022. The project is special for its size; it is the first to manage 15 “Phase 3 digs” – what Sarah called “total excavations.” Researchers have found Native American ceramics and colonial coins on site. “My favorite part of my job is seeing the sheer amount of materials in the lab. This job really lets me investigate all periods,” she said.

Sarah can often be found counting, bagging, and analyzing materials. With the field excavations concluded, Sarah will be spending more time piecing together the complex narrative to be found from these artifacts.

Becoming a Sister of AΣT helped Sarah to come out of her shell. “I spent my first semester only going to class and eating food back in my dorm. I knew I needed to do something,” she said. After a friend suggested her name for recruitment, Sarah made the jump to join. She quickly learned how to talk to strangers and even began coordinating events. Her Sisters gave her a family. “I think the AΣT memory that always pops into my head is during my first semester when we were going through Big-Little week. Big-Little Reveal was on my birthday, so my Big played on that and hid and popped out of a box decorated like a birthday present. It always makes me laugh,” she recalled.

Sarah can be found spending her free time reading fantasy and historical fiction, and she proudly recalled having finished The Red Queen recently. She is most inspired by her family, who encouraged her to pursue a career in academia. To younger Sisters, Sarah suggested, “Don’t fall into peer pressure, but always try it. Half of what I did was because someone else suggested I should try.”