A pleasant surprise: Anthropology... JOB?? in RALEIGH?!?

So, the Drummonds are a family at North Ridge Church who are deeply involved with LIFTED.

I remember sitting down at their dinner table sometime last semester, and telling them about my internship and how I wanted to use my anthropology skills in LIFTED for multiple reasons. I mentioned the anthropological difference and how valuable that could be in LIFTED. Mr. Drummond was interested in this and began to talk about his work, and I vaguely remember it being design something-or-another and they use anthropologist-type people and strategies in their designs. He said I should come in sometime and look around. But of course, out of sight, out of mind.

I hadn't really given it a second thought until I recently started actively looking for careers out there. Needless to say, I felt immediately defeated in my primary pursuits. I looked online for "jobs in raleigh," but little did I know that unless I wanted to be a manager, camp bus driver, administrative assistant, financial whatchyamacallit, or government worker (ALL with 3-5 years of experience required at the least), I would be out of luck.

All of this is not to say that I didn't feel like the classes at App prepared me for this search, they did. But they can't prepare you all the way. No matter what, you have to just jump in and start doggy-paddling somewhere. My concentrations in particular, when paired together, create a specific overall purpose that you can't just NAME a job or career from. I could list to you a million different ways I think my athropological difference could be used in any field or even just the one field of minstry-based non-profits. But typically, there aren't ready-made positions out there for us. There aren't job listings on jobsearch.com for these things. It's because we're specific, we're passionate, we're driven, and we're well suited for very special jobs that not just anyone can do.

Okay, enough of that soapbox!

So, as I started searching (and becoming increasingly discouraged) I remembered Mr. Drummonds offer to visit his work to see how they use anthropological techniques. I contacted him and he told me he wanted to connect me with two people, Ross and Shanna, who are "human factors specialists." I didn't know much about the company, what they did, or what exactly these two people did. But what I learned today during my visit answered all of those things and, more, made me come alive.

Mr. Drummond works at a Product Development firm called Insight. Another name for their type of company is an Innovation Firm. There are quite a few across the U.S., and their job is to help businesses with their products. These businesses come to Insight and say "Hey, we need your help redesigning our product. Something just isn't right and our customers aren't exactly satisfied anymore. How can we make it better for them, and for us?" Insight has different teams to tackle this job. There are the human factors specialists, who go out and do what they deem an "ethnography" of their client's customers to understand what is missing from the product and how that could be remedied. There are the designers who work with the human factors people to create the idea, and the engineers who make it come to life. Happy customers, happy businesses, happy Insight.

In our Applied Anthropology class, there were just so many overall fields presented, that it's hard to touch ALL of the different ways and venues anthropology can be used. Before today, I really didn't know these types of jobs even existed.

The work space at Insight, for one, is an absolute aesthetic dream. Their office is in a refurbished factory/warehouse in downtown Raleigh, with beautiful big factory windows, original brick, and hardwood floors. No cubicles, just wide, open space. There is a loft overlooking the work space, and immediately I felt the space was totally conducive to creativity and efficiency. Mr. Drummond led me to the conference room, where Ross and Shanna were waiting.

At best, I was hoping to be a thorn in their side for an hour, asking semi-lame questions about their jobs and how they use anthropology. They were beyond beyond gracious about this meeting!! Ross is probably in his 40s, with a family and bold personality. Shanna more recently graduated from NC State. The first thing they did was ask me about my studies.

I cannot tell you how GOOD it felt to tell someone about what I studied and not have them look back at me with a blank stare and courtesy smile!!!!

And BEYOND THAT! Ross asked me if I did a thesis, and when I told him about my intensive research on ethnography and it's evolution in anthropology over time, he knew exactly what I was talking about. It was an immediate connection and the conversation was just on that deep level of understanding, which could probably bring tears to my eyes. They EVEN used terms like "participant observation," "qualitative," "quantitative," "maps," and "informants"!!!! Someone speaking my language!

I've felt so unsure about my decision to study 2 seemingly unrelated passions, and unsure about the relevance of my thesis beyond school, beyond just having to do it to graduate. They picked my brain for a good hour and 30 minutes on ethnographies. They asked questions, asked for my opinions, and gave insight to how it's used in their world, and how it could be better used in their world. How someone like me could be used in their world.

They told me my experience in anthropology was like a halo. That ethnography, in the design arena, was a loose, abused, and bastardized term people threw around without really knowing what it means, and without focus. They made me feel valued, and finally, all those thousands of dollars put into school seemed worthwhile.

As if the talk wasn't good enough, Mr. Drummond ended the conversation by addressing Ross and Shanna, stating that he wanted to expose them to me so I could be on their radar should any positions become available. They nodded enthusiastically. WHAT?!


Even if their budget never allows me to join the team, I learned so much today. I learned that my dream job, that I didn't even KNOW was my dream job, actually exists in the world and in THIS world of our poor economy. I learned about different design firms that do similar things as Insight, and they even offered to connect me to them for interviews. They said to email any time with questions, and gave me invaluable tools to walk confidently in the way of my dreams!

HERE is Insight's Website

HERE is a job description of a human factors specialist in a similar company called IDEO

Getting Closer

So, it's 12 days until our Boone event!!!

I feel prepared in that I know what I have to do, where I have to be, and what is expected of me. I feel well informed and capable.

12 days will be sufficient to make it all happen, if I work hard and stay motivated until the 27th.

I need to:

practice with the band for my music.
compile the information I want to present at the "cultural table"
continue communicating with ArtSociety about their sound needs and merch table
continue helping Cat and others with whatever their needs are.

I'm really excited about this event. I think it will be really interesting to see the response we get. LIFTED is a gospel-centered event, not to shove opinions down people's throats, but because LIFTED truly believes Jesus cares the most about child sex trafficking, more than we could ever care about it. Part of my conversation in the past few meetings has been through giving insight about Boone peculiarities when it comes to the idea of Christianity. Boone is a place of great passion, specifically passion for causes. Boone is also a place particularly resistant to Christianity. Based on my time there, I can say that overall many people respect Jesus, believe He was real, and believe He did good things, much like Ghandi or Muhammad. But when it comes to Christianity the religion, nothing could be more despicable, backwards, irrelevant, and out of date.

My insights have been helpful. Not helpful in that LIFTED has planned to do things a certain way based on this, or that LIFTED has used this information to "up" it's "Christian strategy." That's far from what the response was, and honestly, even if we were a bunch of geniuses and planned a spectacular form of Worldview Manipulation we still couldn't change people's minds or hearts. It has been helpful in that LIFTED has been more focused in it's prayer. We're praying that people will dare to care about children they don't know. We're praying that the name of Jesus won't be so offensive that people will turn off their ears to what we're saying, and what we're saying is that Child Sex Trafficking is global, it's growing, it's heartbreaking, and we MUST RESPOND.

We're praying that the Lord would do what He wants to do at this event. We want to yield our plans and our strategies to Him, so He can address individual hearts. Because at the heart, we're just like the kids being sold, we're just like the girl willingly selling herself for extra cash, we're just like the men who buy them.

Picking Up Speed

For this post, I want to share a little bit about how things are rolling right along these past two and next few weeks. I would like to share some about the people I am working with and how they are approaching the issue of child sex trafficking. I would also like to share some of my insights as an anthropologist who believes in Jesus, and the interesting juxtaposition there.

Of course, much of my internship has revolved around and hinged on our trip to Thailand and Cambodia. Being there, ALL there, for 14 days straight, there was much to see, learn, and experience anthropologically and otherwise. It was constant sense overload in good ways, exhausting ways, and disturbing ways.

This past week was the first one that I felt very settled in my place in LIFTED as a whole, in its normal state in Raleigh. One interesting thing is that there is no LIFTED office here, it's more of a cooperative of people (mostly out of North Ridge Church) who come together to form LIFTED. For many of these people, their responsibilities in LIFTED ebb and flow depending on whether or not there is an event coming up. For a few (Cat, Jess, Dan, and myself to name some) it is something on our minds most days, planning for future events, corresponding with people who have questions, people who want to host events, people who want to know how they can get involved. I am realizing how exhausting non-profit work can be. You must love the cause, and be willing to devote most of your time and many of your best efforts to making a tiny dent in the problem, literally one changed heart at a time.

So, we've been getting ready for this Boone event, and it is hands down going to be our biggest event yet in terms of prospected attendees, promotion, our efforts in planning, and length/content of the event. I've written contracts, corresponded through emails and phone every day. I've been planning my cultural table, gathering statistics about RNhu and the issue as a whole for some of our visuals. I've been planning my music, planning rehearsal times and set lists. Numerous students from App have emailed me asking how they can get involved, and I've corresponded to find a way for them to help out. I'm updating the LIFTED blog every week, which is a more time and thought-consuming task than one might think. I've been involved with the practical planning of when we'll leave, who rides with whom, where we're staying, and a general schedule of the time. There are many things I just get to dip in, sharing my voice, thoughts and opinions in conversation. Because the people I work with are friends of mine outside of LIFTED, it is something we talk about quite a bit together. It's becoming a part of my overall life here, which is good. That's the way I'd want to do it if I were doing this full time.

Catherine, who is my direct overseer and founder of LIFTED events, is 24 and a fifth grade teacher at a year-round school. She literally spends free moments at school texting and emailing about LIFTED stuff. She comes home and plans. On her trackout weeks, she is primarily doing LIFTED full time. To help get a picture of Catherine, she is teeny tiny skinny with a fire-y personality. She speaks quickly with her hands flailing in the air, animating her scattered and quick-moving thoughts. She is bold and, most of all, a woman of conviction. She does not grow weary as readily as one might think, because of her deep conviction and call to this issue. And she'll be the first to tell you it's not her, it's the Lord. Hands down, the majority of her involvement in LIFTED is in her prayers about and for it. I am not exaggerating.

At first, this was a tough thing for me to deal with as an anthropology intern. Not because I don't share my beliefs with Catherine, but because in my 5 semesters in anthropology classes at Appalachian, I tried to keep my beliefs in one side of my brain and the theories and methods of traditional anthropology in another. I even remember one class specifically, the teacher saying how you cannot be Christian and an Anthropologist. I remember thinking, well, that's not true, because I believe in Jesus and follow Him and I think he's the God of Anthropology. There are so many ways that Anthropology and Christianity go together, it makes so much sense to me. But in classes, it's not something I talked about because I knew it wouldn't be worth the trouble trying to explain myself. In that, I didn't realize how disconnected I let my beliefs become in my studies.

So I get here, and the biggest point that Catherine will make about LIFTED is that it wasn't her idea, it was the Lord's. And that it is a gospel-centered organization, a gospel-centered event. Something in me immediately became almost offended. If you really want to reach people, I thought, you must not force the gospel down their throat! These people are resistant to even just the word "Christianity," let alone a "Christ centered event"! HEL-LO! I thought. They think Christians ruin everything that was good. Did they understand people in Boone? Did they understand how resistant people were to this sort of thing?

What I didn't realize in my thinking was that I had kind of become one of those "Boone" people. I kept my beliefs so quiet because I didn't want to offend anyone, even myself.

What many people don't realize is that we don't do this to give Christianity a high-five, like... YES! We put Jesus' name on the issue of human trafficking, we got it, so we're set. What else can we put his name on?

What we have is something I might align with the anthropological term "communitas."

A community, deeply moved by something together, something supernatural. To the anthropologist, it's something scientific, something in the DNA of how humans react to one another and to the meaning of life. To me and my LIFTED friends, it's something real. More real than breathing or getting up in the morning. More real than what my eyes can see and more real than what my mind can dissect to understand. It's counterintuitive to how I would explain things myself.

So here I am as a believer in and follower of Jesus the Christ, praying for this event. And here I am as an anthropologist of sorts, not typical I guess, but I consider myself one. I'm passionate about anthropology, how it's in everything we do because we're humans, together. I am passionate about the theories of anthropology, and how they can be applied in Christianity, not just to it.

A lot more thoughts on this, which I could explain way more eloquently, but I just had to come out and address the elephant in the room, even if just a little.