Changemaker gains new perspective after Caribbean field school

A friendly and approachable member of the student community, Changemaker Emma Chong frequently participates and volunteers across the Faculty of Environment.

The Faculty recognized these efforts when they awarded Emma with a 2022 Changemaker of the Year award for her commitment to creating positive social and environmental change. The fourth-year archaeology major is a member of the Student Leadership Team and the Interdepartmental Liaison for the Archaeology Student Society. She’s also completed a co-op at the Port Moody Station Museum, where she assisted with diversifying the museum to include more perspectives and improving accessibility.

In addition to her archaeology major, Emma is minoring in geography and earning certificates in cultural resource management (CRM) and geographic information systems (GIS). With her interdisciplinary education, she wants to work at a cultural resource management company working to make archaeology a less invasive discipline. “Right now, it’s quite invasive and damaging,” she explains.

Non-invasive technologies like GIS and laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LiDAR) can be used to preserve the environment at archaeological sites. “So hopefully we’ll be able to limit the amount of destruction we do while still learning about our past,” says Emma.

Last summer, Emma attended a five-week field school on the island of Curaçao. Prior to the trip, she completed a mandatory month-long course to prepare. “But I was still terrified,” says Emma, “I was worried I was going to mess up something.”

Though intimidated about her first real excavation, Emma says it was probably one of the greatest experiences of her life. “It really opened my eyes to a different culture — and how different archaeology is in different cultures,” says Emma. “Because we had to follow Curaçao’s rules, as opposed to B.C.’s rules.”

It also made her realize that, as prominent as archaeology is in B.C., the same resources don’t exist everywhere. She was surprised to learn that in Curaçao, there are only two archaeologists for the entire island, limiting the capacity for archaeological work. “Being able to excavate and carry out some of the projects that they had originally been planning was a big help for them,” says Emma.

After Curaçao Emma has a new global perspective of archaeology that has helped her grow as a changemaker. “It was an amazing experience,” she says, “I’m so glad I did it.”