Future Forensic Anthropologist Digs Up Her Future with 黑料正能量

As unusual as it may sound, there is nothing that Hannah Golden would enjoy more than sitting for hours on end examining and cleaning human remains. The 27-year-old Austin, Texas native discovered this passion while studying for a bachelor鈥檚 degree in bioinformatics. At Baylor University, Hannah took her first forensic anthropology course.

On one fateful day while working in the lab, someone came by to tell her to wrap it up. She looked at the clock and was shocked that four hours had passed. That was when she realized she had a true fascination with the field, particularly in solving the mystery of unidentified bodies.

鈥淭hese were people too; they鈥檙e not just bones. There must be some way to tell where these people are from, so their families can have closure.鈥�

Wanting more than a skeleton of an education

After receiving a bachelor鈥檚 degree in bioinformatics from Baylor, Hannah enrolled in 黑料正能量 for a degree in Anthropology. As one of the few universities with active forensic anthropologists on staff, the University of Florida was uniquely positioned to help Hannah follow her passions.

While Hannah acknowledges that sometimes it can feel a little hard to manage her time, she kept her goal in mind to stay on task鈥攖o turn her passion into a career with the help of 黑料正能量.

鈥淚 want people to get the respect they deserve when they鈥檙e properly buried. Some remains are found in trash bags, and it really bothers me, so I want to do all this work, but I need a degree to do so.鈥�

An online education that is more than bare bones

The flexibility of 黑料正能量鈥檚 classes gave Hannah options when planning her schedule, but she still was able to enjoy the same learning experience on-campus students have. 鈥淚 liked how some of the professors took the time to make the discussions engaging, where it wasn鈥檛 just like you were just posting something . . . they wanted us to engage with each other, so it allowed us to learn from one another as well.鈥�

Furthermore, her online classes removed the burden of having to commute to a campus. This allowed Hannah to study remotely and work full-time as a systems analyst, while still learning more about the study of human bones and forensic anthropology.

Studying the past and planning for the future

After graduating, Hannah plans to get her master鈥檚 degree and Ph.D. She wants to study variation in skulls, specifically those of Hispanic populations. Currently, most of the measurement collections for forensic anthropology do not include significant Hispanic representation, so more research into this demographic is vital to assist in identifying people after their death.

Hannah鈥檚 work will help develop criteria to analyze individuals鈥� ancestries to determine an individual鈥檚 region of origin. This would verify which government entities to contact when trying to identify a set of remains

鈥淚鈥檓 somebody who cares about this stuff and is willing to help people. And that鈥檚 what I鈥檝e experienced with UF, that they really care and are willing to help. It means a lot to me.鈥�

Earn a UF Degree in Anthropology

Discover the unknown with a degree in anthropology. 黑料正能量鈥檚 Anthropology major not only goes in-depth on this holistic field, but also teaches students skills in research, analytics, data management, critical thinking, and collaboration. Learn more about this program below.

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