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Discovering a Dream

December 18, 2019

Discovering a Dream

Learn More About GVSU in Traverse City

Shirley Shane did not expect to fall in love with a new field of study in her fifties.  She had adopted a less conventional educational track for herself after her freshman year at Michigan State University, but through a chance meeting was inspired to become a Grand Valley State University Anthropology student. 

Over the years Shirley had taken courses and attended lectures at Northwestern Michigan College. Her inquisitive mind hungrily absorbed the wisdom, fascinated by speakers that ranged from former Ambassadors to widely-traveled doctors. One day, she found herself in the audience of an International Affairs Forum, completely captivated by an Anthropologist’s stories of working with women in Turkey’s coffee industry.

“I thought [to myself], I want to be like that,” Shirley says, remembering the depth of feeling the speaker had for the people she’d learned so much about. “She was so caring and full of love.”

It didn’t take long for Shirley to decide that anthropology was for her. She transferred credits she’d already accumulated to Grand Valley State University and began working towards a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology. The more she learned, the more she loved.

“As you look into Anthropology, there are four branches. Biological, Archeological, Cultural, and Linguistics,” Shirley explains, delight filling each word like a balloon. “The Cultural [branch] is so fascinating, and Linguistics too. I groove on languages.”

Shirley pursues her degree one course at a time, working closely with her employer and GVSU faculty to accommodate her distance from the Grand Rapids campus.  She is joined on her commutes from Northern Michigan by her supportive husband, who makes the drive with her twice a week.

Fortune favors Shirley as she continues her studies, adventures presenting themselves eagerly to her. Once, simply having an anthropology book with her on a flight out of Traverse City sparked a conversation with a member of a local heritage  society. Through this connection, Shirley was able to “tag along as willing labor” to a small-scale archeological excavation at the former Leelanau Poor Farm. 

Shirley explains that the dig, called a shovel test, was an exploratory survey of part of the farm in anticipation of a new driveway on the property. Various historical societies and farms in the area make efforts to discover and preserve Native American artifacts and sites in Northwest Lower Michigan.  Shirley has been instrumental in starting an up-north chapter of the Michigan Archeological Society, to be finalized in the near future.  

Empowered by this and other community experiences, Shirley plans to help foster programs for aspiring anthropology enthusiasts of all ages.  “They’re so excited about what’s in the ground,” Shirley says. “I’m a joyful person. If I can draw [people] into an experience that they wouldn’t normally take part in and that gives them joy, it makes me happy to give them that.”

Shirley is on track to complete her BA in Anthropology  after the summer of 2023. She dreams of traveling with her husband, bringing happiness and knowledge to all of those they meet along the way.

For more information about Anthropology programs at Grand Valley State University contact Shannon Owen, Director of Northern Michigan Programs for Grand Valley State University at 231.995.1785 and at www.gvsu.edu/traverse.

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Page last modified December 18, 2019