Recent Recipients

Anna Ruane, 2019 Bigel Award winner:

This spring I was awarded the Bigel Grant which I used to attend the Gotland Field School on the island Gotland, located off the coast of Sweden. It was a 5 week long archaeological field school. While there, we studied Viking Age artifacts, some of which included a sword, sacrificed weapons, and a burial. The field school also took us on rural excursions where we were able to learn about the culture of Gotland. The Bigel Grant allowed me to continue to study archaeology outside of the United States and gave me more experience in the field.

Congratulations 2022 Bigel Award Winners!

Katharine Fitch
“Ness of Brodgar, Orkney Field School”

Farrah Fornarotto
“Dunkerhook Archaeological Research Summer Program”

Krishna Leitner
“Bioarcheology in Kampsville Illinois”

Jaileen Murillo
“Dunkerhook Archaeological Research Summer Program”

Efrain Ocasio
“Dunkerhook Archaeological Research Summer Program”

NaDree Stewart
“Dunkerhook Archaeological Research Summer Program”

David Villa
“Dunkerhook Archaeological Research Summer Program”

Congratulations 2021 Bigel Award Winners!

Leanna Sanchez (Fall)
“Untapped Resources, Unsung Soul: A Pilot Project on Language Capacities & Needs in Hudson County”

Will Williams (Fall)
“Analyzing Disability Culture on Campus”

David Fleitas-Guillen
“Dunkerhook Summer Field School”

Joselyn Molina
“Dunkerhook Summer Field School”

Zepheniah Ramos
““Mushrooms: The potential for a sustainable food source in Queens, NY”

Leanna Sanchez
“Virtual Ethnographic Field Work in Ecuador”

Jordan Shirdel
“Dunkerhook Summer Field School”

Dangelis Soto
“Dunkerhook Summer Field School”

Will Williams
“Dunkerhook Summer Field School”

Previous Award Winners

2020 Fall Bigel Award Winners – The “Double Pandemic” Project

2020 Spring Bigel Award Winners

Genevieve Cece
“The Impacts of Gentrification in the East Village and the Future of the Art Community.”

Peter, De Angelo
“Behavior and Conservation of Costa Rican Primates (Field School)”

Auhane Easterling
“Medical Examiner Experience (Internship)”

Gabriel Harris
“International Child Health and Nutrition (Internship at The Amani Foundation, Tanzania)”

Emily Rothamel
“The rates of sea cucumber consumption on the Masoala Peninsula in Madagascar and their effect on human nutrition and marine conservation targets”

Sam Thomson
“Montclair State University Campus Community Garden Internship”

2019 Bigel Award Winners:

Auzhane Easterling
“Forensics Field School”

Calli Feehan
“Migrant Trail: Volunteer Voices on the U.S.-Mexico Border”

Anna Ruane
“Research at Gotland Field School”

James Sanchez
“Community of Silence”

2018 Bigel Award Winners:

Michelle Garcia
“Ethnographic Field work in Isla Mujeres”

2017 Bigel Award winners:

Karina Gomez
“Closer to Home: Commensality Behavior Patterns at Montclair State University”

Rose Arroyo
“Connecting Historical Site to Local Community in Genzano di Roma”

Warren Bristol
“Landscape Architecture, Participatory Urbanism, and Housing in Barcelona”

Hamna Khuld
“Vitiligo: Race and Gender in the U.S.”

Kimberly Lynch
“Minority Mental Illness in Dublin, Ireland: a needs assessment of community-based agencies and clinic-based services”

Alexandria Torna
“Learning Ethnographic Methods and Enhancing Cross-cultural Awareness through CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods and Semester at Sea”

2016 Award Winners

Christopher Snyder
“City Green Urban Agriculture Service Learning Experience”

Alicia Pruticka
“Maderas Rainforest Conservancy- Primate Behavior and Ecology”

2015 Award Winners

Alexis Alemy,
“A Long Time Coming,” Archaeological Field Experience

Evelyn Gutierrez,
“La Herencia de Papi; Dad’s Inheritance”

Sophia Hudzik,
“Villa of the Antonines,” Archaeological Field School

Amber Johnson,
“A Long Time Coming,” Archaeological Field Experience

Jessica Twal,
“A Long Time Coming,” Archaeological Field Experience

2014 Award Winners

Gray Burford,
“The Value and Feasibility of Vegan Living”

Krystal Land,
“Villa of the Antonines, Field School n Mediterranean Archaeology”

2013 Award Winners

Sharon Albin,
“Pohansko Moravian Archaeology Site, College of DuPage Field School”

Michelle Carnella,
“Needs Assessment of Senior Citizens in Montclair, NJ”

Emily Dunn,
“Connection Within Competition: A Study on Classical Musicians Competing in a Declining Industry, The Connections That They Share, and What They Have to Offer”

Katherine Sferra,
“Villa of the Antonines, Field School n Mediterranean Archaeology”

Kelly Vaghenas,
“The Anthropology in and of Dance, as Investigated by an Insider at Dance Teacher Magazine”

2012 Award Winners

Melissa Belloff,
“Survey and Evaluation of 7th and 8th Grade Sample Populations Seatbelt Usage in Northern New Jersey”

Jessica Mulcahy,
“Death Scene Archaeology: Field Methods in the Location, Recovery, and Interpretation of Human Remains from Outdoor Contexts (Mercyhurst College Field School)”

Lisa Williams,
“Policy Research on Minority Issues & Disability: Internship at the National Black Disability Coalition (NBDC)”

Sean O’Connor,
“Shinto Religion in New York”

2011 Award Winners

Building Sustainable Communities students, including Katherine Milsop, Lauren Shabunia, Laura DiMattina, Jessica Feygin, Jacqueline Gifuni, Julie Morrison, Malgorzata Smerdel, Bernice Landis, and Gloria K. Eisner:
“Ecovillage Ithaca”

Staci Borowsky,
“Cultural Minority: Examining Attitudes towards the Deaf”

Jennifer Hennion,
“Internship at City Lore, a non-profit organization that preserves urban folklore and culture, based out of the Lower East Side of Manhattan”

Katherine Milsop,
“Peru: Sustainable Development and Social Change”

Jessica Mulcahy,
“Analysis of Bone Trauma and Psuedo-Trauma in Suspected Violent Deaths, Mercyhurst College Field School”

Malgorzata Smerdel,
“Documenting Realities: Peru, Sustainable Development and Social Change”