My name is Leilani Vurro and I am a upcoming junior at Cholla High School. I heard about this program through my history teacher (Ms. Boehler) and at first I wasn’t interested. After a zoom meet hosted by Katie P. and was told all the potential things I could learn, I decided to join. Applying has been one of my best decisions I’ve have made as I have learned a lot about the world around me and who I am.
Before the program, my identity and who I wasn’t something I thought about. The question of identity was constantly asked throughout the program and it really made me self reflect on who and where I come from. I come from many different backgrounds, as I am very mixed- my mom is Mexican and French- my dad Filipino and Italian. Growing up, culture wasn’t really something that was discussed, but I’ve realized all that I’ve done is part of what my culture is. From food to religion- any tradition was influenced by my culture around me.
I have always been interested in psychology and why people do the things they do, so when I heard about archaeology, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to expand my knowledge; not only on human nature but more about the cultures around me. I know I want to work with children, so after going to all these places and learning things from a variety of people who specialize in different things, I realized that I want to be one of those people. I believe education is extremely important so being able to be one of those that can teach others is something I would love to do.