Shane McDonnell. Courtesy photo
By Micaela Myers
Shane McDonnell fell in love with Wyoming on a family trip to Yellowstone National Park in high school. When it came time for college, UW stood out as his top choice to study anthropology, given its ideal location and stellar faculty.
Upon graduating in 2021, McDonnell returned to his hometown of San Diego and started a career in the environmental services and planning field for HELIX and Dudek, companies that work on a broad range of projects that improve communities’ infrastructure and natural environment. He enjoys working in the field and collaborates with construction and Native American personnel to identify cultural materials.
McDonnell also remains closely tied to Wyoming, serving as an instructor in 2022 and then crew manager in 2023 at the Archaeological Field School at the Hell Gap archaeological site near Guernsey.
“Hell Gap is a federally protected and nationally recognized site, so it was really cool to be able to participate in a very important study and write a technical report,” McDonnell says.
These opportunities are part of the reason McDonnell is applying to UW to earn his master’s degree in anthropology so that he can continue to progress in the field. These accomplishments also helped earn McDonnell the UWAA Rising Alumni Award.
He encourages students and recent graduates to follow their passion. McDonnell says, “If you find a job like I have where I enjoy going to work every single day, that’s worth way more than money alone.”