My name is Alejandra Maritza Barrera-Pallares, most commonly known as Ale or Alejandra. I was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico and moved to the USA in 2002 to join my dad that migrated a year before. I love to read, listen music, dance, play the guitar and watch movies in my free time. One of my new hobbies is to go on hiking trips around Washington and Oregon, with the goal to expand to other states.

I am a recent graduate of the University of Washington, with a major in Archaeology, Human evolutionary genetics, and medical & global health. My interest for archy started when after my first year at UW I decided to change my major of pre-medicine to anthropology disciplines, especially since I am interest it in forensic anthropology as a future career.   This interest guided me towards archaeology because forensic anthro requires skills that can be acquired through archaeology, thus archy seem like an excellent choice. This decision made it possible for me to explore different scenarios that occur while doing fieldwork, since archy is a changing and evolving field that requires flexibility, patience, open mind, and many other concepts that expose me to the outside world. By being able to attend UW I was able to acquire skills that I would have never imagine; surveying, mapping, cataloging, archiving, research, ethnoarchaeology, Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), and fieldwork are among that many skills I was able to obtain, among all the knowledge and history I learned. Therefore, being able to participate in this fieldschool is excellent and such a great opportunity, because I am able to expand my knowledge in CBPR, and learn about the challenges and opportunities of working with indigenous tribes.

While doing this fieldschool I hope to experience archaeology first hand, while learning its impact and use in Indigenous groups and other communities. In addition, my goal is to learn\expand my skills and gain experience in order to work as an archy technician or CRM.