About me: an anthropologist's pursuit into journalism

I am not your average 26-year old-girl. I enjoy long walks to the morgue and my work experience is varied — ranging from being a professional stylist (apparel), working in healthcare and journalism to  chicken sitting.

I guess you could call me a “chicken tender” of sorts!

I was born and raised in Lexington and received my bachelor’s degree at the University of Kentucky in anthropology. My central focuses within my major were cultural and forensic anthropology. I also speak Spanish and Italian. I have extensive knowledge in regards to culture and have studied Mayan civilization extensively – even to the point of decoding ancient Mayan hieroglyphs.

I have studied abroad and participated in an archeological excavation — through Asbury College — which was located in Abel Beth Macaah, Israel. The excavation site dates back to the Old Testament and is mentioned in the bible several times: 2 Samuel 20:14 (story of the wise woman, 10th century), 1 Kings 15:20 (9th century BCE, Aramean conquest), and 2 Kings 15:29 (Neo-Assyrian conquest). A kingdom called Maacah is also referenced in the bible in Joshua 13:11, 2 Samuel 10:6, and 1 Chronicles 19:6.

I have a dark sense of humor and morbid curiosity, which is likely related to why I’ve worked in the “mortuary field” and enjoyed anthropology/archeology so much. With archeology, I’ve studied forensics and human bone analysis. I also was a former volunteer deputy coroner in Jessamine county and worked in patient relations at University of Kentucky’s Albert A. Chandler Hospital in the admitting and decedent affairs department.

Decedent affairs refers to the process in which the hospital handles expired patients and funerary arrangements. I have my certification as a Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics for the Commonwealth of Kentucky as well as my certification KODA (Kentucky Organ Donation Affiliates) Designated Requestor Training for Organ/Tissue/Cornea.

Now you may be wondering how my experience correlates with reporting news and why I’ve had such a drastic shift in career paths.

To put it simply, anthropology is a holistic field where investigative research is employed through various systematic methodologies, data analysis, and is inquisitive in its nature. It is applicable to pretty much any field of work and helpful in everyday life!

Most anthropologists work in government, media companies, museums, and conduct research for agencies like the World Health Organization, non-profits and the Centers for Disease Control, as it is essential to have a well-rounded understanding of all variables.

There is a huge overlap between how journalists conduct research and those performing anthropological analyses.

Anthropology is the study of people and what makes us human, this breaks down into four main subfields: archaeology, linguistics, biological, and cultural anthropology.

Biological anthropology’s purpose is to understand how people adapt to their environments; what causes disease (including transmission), how we evolved as humans, and our own biology.

The cultural subfield is focused on how people live and understand the world around them — voicing differing viewpoints and perspectives of various populations to highlight similarities and differences among them. It is the study of the human experience including social organization (government, social structure, religion) in order to understand the values and lifestyles of different demographics.

Linguistics pertains to how people communicate and how language is used to build and share meaning, make/change relations of power– It is how we use communication in many forms and how it changes over time.

In sum, anthropology is vital to understand societal issues and cultural patterns to provide a positive impact to our community such as addressing economic needs, evaluating policy, and ensuring equality of all groups of people.

 I have always had a strong passion and talent with writing (especially research papers LOL) but it was only recently that I  considered entering the field of journalism and a career in multi-media communications. 

After working as a news reporter for a local paper and basically training myself on how to report news and learn journalism (including AP style citations) with zero experience, I learned that I could excel and conquer any task or job thrown my way in due time. 

My intention of this blog is to display a collective of my work to serve as a digital portfolio of sorts.

In sum, I like to keep it interesting whether that may be on a day-to-day basis in the life of Carey Marie Holbrook or within my writing itself. 

I am objective and thorough within my work and have a quirky persona to match.