Tracey Clark, who lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., completed a thesis combining her interests in museum studies and Southwestern art. She began in the summer of 2001 with the production of a catalog, inventory, and descriptive analysis of some 450 pieces of Ancestral Puebloan pottery in the Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. In 2002, Clark interviewed contemporary Pueblo potters in order to expand her perspective on this art form. Finally, she curated an exhibit entitled "Sah Weh: One Thousand Years of Pueblo Pottery." Her exhibit appeared in the college's Coburn Gallery during October 2002, accompanied by a descriptive brochure she wrote and published. Clark's research was supported by Faculty/Student Collaborative Research Grants. She plans to pursue a career as a museum curator.

Molly McCormick, of Lakin, Kan., wrote a thesis titled "From Heaven to New Mexico: Symbolism and Imagery of Our Lady of Guadalupe." McCormick conducted ethnographic research among contemporary Hispaño artists of northern New Mexico who depict the Virgin of Guadalupe in traditional as well as contemporary media. The artists with whom she worked make bultos (three-dimensional wood carvings), retablos (painted wooden tablets), tin-work, murals, and tattoos. Her thesis explores the sacred and cultural symbolism of Guadalupe, the aesthetic and contemplative processes Hispaño artists undergo in creating images of Guadalupe, and the significance of these images in the spiritual lives of Spanish New Mexicans. McCormick received support for her project from the Joel T. Benezet Memorial Fund. She is now developing a fly-fishing guide business in southern Colorado.

Kitren Fischer, whose hometown is Wayzata, Minn., completed a double major in Southwest studies and anthropology. Inspired by Professor Mario Montaño's course on the anthropology of food, Fischer studied folklore and food traditions in northern New Mexico. A grant from the Joel T. Benezet Memorial Fund enabled Fischer to spend a month living with Eremita and Margaret Campos, a mother-daughter team who own and operate a family farm near Embudo. Fischer presented a collection of family recipes and the stories associated with them in a thesis titled "Tales from the Tomato Ladies." The recipes and stories capture much of the essence of contemporary life in rural parts of northern New Mexico, while also shedding light on many aspects of regional history. Fischer hopes to pursue a career in law.

These projects exemplify the educational objectives of the Southwest studies faculty, which continually strives to enhance and enrich the curriculum while adhering to the fundamental values established by the program's founders, Joe Gordon (professor emeritus of English), the late Arthur Petit (professor of history), and Marianne Stoller (professor emerita of anthropology).

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