By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Everyone has their own reason for choosing a field of study in college. Some might be considered more lucrative or glamourous than others. Some might fall in line with the family tradition.

For Caroline Donovan, a senior on William & Mary's lacrosse team, majoring in anthropology made perfect sense.

"I've always had a lot of different interests, and anthropology gives you the opportunity to study anything all around the world," she said. "I could choose to study any region. I could choose to study any time period. And that's what interested me because of the holistic flexibility that it offers."

Last fall, Donovan was the only undergraduate to be invited to the CIRAP Archaeology Conference in Tahiti. She presented the preliminary results from her honors thesis, which is titled "Gendered Publishing Patterns and Occupational Trends, Oceania Archaeology 2005-2020."

Donovan gave a similar presentation the month before in Hawaii.

"The titles are always very long and complicated," Donovan said with a laugh. "Essentially, I'm looking into and am most interested in gender equity in archaeology and focusing on how often women publish their research in comparison to men."

Donovan's introduction to the field came in her senior year of high school when she took a cultural perspective class. Following a recommendation from her teacher, Donovan took Introduction to Cultural Anthropology her freshmen year at W&M. She was hooked.

Donovan then enrolled in Archaeology and Popular Cinema, which was taught by Jennifer Kahn. Her research centers mostly on the Oceania region, which includes Tahiti and Hawaii. As a sophomore, Donovan began working with Kahn.

"I started an independent study project with her that eventually became my honors thesis, which is what I presented on in Tahiti and Hawaii," Donovan said. "It was an amazing opportunity to do that in both places."

Donovan has done all this while never missing a game in four seasons, the last two as a team captain, with Tribe lacrosse.

"Typically, we have a lot of girls in the business school or going the science route," W&M coach Colleen Dawson said. "She's in a little bit of a different ball park and has been able to do some incredible things. She's someone all of our girls look up to and strive to be like on and off the field.

"Since she was a freshman, she's been super committed to her school work and pushing herself on the field. She's someone who, on and off the field, demonstrates what Tribe lacrosse is all about."

Donovan was a midfielder at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Del., where she finished her career with 184 goals and 110 assist. That was her position at W&M in her freshman season, which due to the pandemic was canceled after seven games.

As a sophomore, Donovan played some midfield but was mostly defense. From her junior year on, she's been strictly a defender.

"I was all for it," Donovan said of the switch. "I obviously wanted to do what the coaches thought was best for the team, but it's been super fun.

"We love our defensive unit. We like to call ourselves 'The Dogs.' We have some fun with it."

Donovan still gets involved on the offensive end from time to time. She scored a crucial goal in the fourth quarter of a 14-13 win over Campbell on Feb. 25.

"She's still someone you see pushing our transition in the majority of our games," Dawson said. "She still has that mindset but as a defender is someone who is our anchor back there."

The Tribe is 4-4 and riding a two-game winning streak heading into Wednesday's trip to Longwood. The most recent win was a 13-12 thriller against Hofstra, which was the Tribe's first conference victory since April 12, 2019.

"That was a huge accomplishment since no one on our team had won a CAA game since being here," Donovan said. "We're excited to keep it rolling. Things are looking really great for us right now."

In those rare moments she isn't on the field or in the classroom, Donovan enjoys photography. Last year, she took senior portraits of her teammates. And, of course, photography is a skill that will serve her well in archaeology.

Donovan also is a dog lover (her family has three) and volunteers with the Heritage Humane Society in Williamsburg.

Graduation day is just over eight weeks from now. Donovan then plans to return to W&M for a one-year Master's program in anthropology. She has one season of playing eligibility remaining.

After that …

"My ultimate end goal would be to get my Ph.D. and eventually become a professor," Donovan said. "That's obviously a long process, so I think after I get my Master's I'll take a few years away from academia and work for a cultural resource management firm or in a museum. And then the Ph.D."

In the classroom or not, you can bet Caroline Donovan will remain curious.