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Cotsen Community Events

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ARCHAEOLOGY MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Now in its fifth year, the Archaeology Mentorship Program (AMP) continues to grow as one of the Cotsen Institute’s flagship student initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in archaeology and allied fields. Since its founding in 2020, AMP has paired 45 graduate mentors with nearly 200 undergraduate mentees, offering individualized guidance, academic support, and professional development opportunities. This past year, IDP students and cofounders Carly Pope and Taylor Carr-Howard, alongside PhD candidate in anthropology and AMP’s current graduate director Victoria Newhall and Cotsen director Jason De León, developed a comprehensive study assessing the program’s longitudinal impact on participant confidence, retention, and career pathways. A forthcoming publication in Advances in Archaeological Practice will evaluate AMP’s outcomes and highlight its potential as a model for increasing equity and representation in the discipline.

K–12 OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Students contribute to a collaborative rock art wall as part of hands-on learning activities during K–12 Archaeology Day. Photo by Holland Fox.
On February 5, 2025, the Cotsen Institute hosted its first K–12 Archaeology Day, welcoming nearly 200 visitors for a hands-on introduction to the archaeological sciences. Activities included dig boxes, pottery making, rock art painting, and a photo booth, with volunteers from AMP and the Cotsen community guiding participants through the labs. As part of the day’s events, Mélie Le Roy presented a guest lecture, “Valuing Children in Life and Death in French Late Neolithic Societies,” offering a compelling perspective on childhood and mortuary practice.

Later that month, on February 20, Cotsen students returned to Johnnie Cochran Middle School to hold a day of mock excavations (also done the year before), reaching nearly 400 students. These outreach efforts form part of AMP’s and the Cotsen’s shared commitment to accessible, experiential learning in archaeology.

Participants try pottery reconstruction during the Cotsen Institute’s first K–12 Archaeology Day, held February 5, 2025. Photo by Holland Fox.
Cotsen graduate students lead mock excavations with nearly 400 middle school students at Johnnie Cochran Middle School, February 20, 2025. Photo by Alex Casteel.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER DAY AND THE COTSEN PRIZE WINNER

Cotsen Institute director Jason De León with Julienne Bernard, recipient of the 2025 Cotsen Prize, during the inaugural Archaeology and Anthropology Community College Transfer Day, April 9, 2025. Photo by Victoria Newhall.

On April 9, 2025, the Cotsen Institute partnered with the Anthropology Department to host its first annual Archaeology and Anthropology Community College Transfer Day, welcoming more than 30 prospective transfer students from regional community colleges for a day of events and programming. The event celebrated mentorship, access, and aca-demic pathways into archaeology. Julienne Bernard of East Los Angeles College was awarded the 2025 Cotsen Prize in recognition of her out-standing record of mentorship in the field.

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