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Voices of Oklahoma is a summer internship for rising high school juniors and seniors who are members of communities traditionally excluded from archaeology. This for-credit program introduces students to the discipline of archaeology as a tool that can produce knowledge that complements other ways that communities understand their heritage (e.g., historic documents and oral traditions). Each summer’s curriculum focuses on a theme chosen to resonate with students.
The goal of the internship is to create networks to higher education for participants and teach them what archaeology is and that it offers viable career paths that are consistent with achieving social justice for traditionally marginalized communities.
We are writing to ask for your help identifying Oklahoma high school students who would be a good fit for a paid, for-credit University of Oklahoma internship this summer. The internship will teach no more than ten (10) students about archaeology and a theme chosen by the community teacher and archaeologist. The internship starts from the premise that archaeology can be a powerful tool for revealing difficult truths about historic events and that it can help communities build more equitable futures. The internship does not require a final paper; instead, students engage their creativity to design an academic-style poster based on their archaeological interests. Additionally, they will collaborate with an Indigenous artist to collectively create the annual “Oklahoma Archaeology Month” poster, which will be distributed statewide two months after the internship ends.
Students are not expected to have any previous background in archaeology. Instead, we seek students who are:
The nomination deadline is January 29th, with student applications due in mid-February.
The selection process is as follows:
If you have any questions or would like to chat about nominating a student, please feel free to call Kaylyn Moore at 479-883-0384.
2026 Voices of Oklahoma Students at the Native American Studies Department
at the University of Oklahoma
Have a student you would like to nominate for the 2027 Voices of Oklahoma internship? Recommend a student via the button below. Any questions can be sent to Team Lead Kaylyn Moore (kaylyn.l.moore@ou.edu).
Reagan Ballard
Reagan is a junior Robertson Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, as a biology major on the pre-medicine track with a data science major. Her current research focuses on how social determinants of health influence the prevalence of illness. She participated in the first Voices of Oklahoma cohort and now maintains her connection to upcoming students as a mentor. Reagan loves reading, writing, and working with children and her peers!
Reagan Bieligk
Reagan is a senior at Holland Hall in Tulsa, OK. She participated in the Voices of Osage Summer Internship 2022. She presented a poster at the 2022 Plains Anthropological Conference. In her free time, she enjoys reading and sewing. She is excited to see where her job at OKPAN is going to go. She participated in an American Heart Association fundraising effort as a 2024 Tulsa Heartball Sweetheart where she raised over $2,500 to fight heart disease.
Dawson Fontenot
Dawson Fontenot is a senior at Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He attended the 2023 Voices of Oklahoma program. Dawson & Voices Alum, Rafael, presented and won the poster competition at the 2024 Oklahoma Archaeological Conference.
Lily Gibson
Lily is a freshman at the University of Oklahoma majoring in human health and biology with a pre-med track. Lily was a part of OKPAN’s Voices of Oklahoma summer internship program in 2023, that focused on educating about Indigenous boarding schools. Lily is a member of the Cherokee Nation and, inspired by her internship, wants to work for her nation when she finishes schooling. Lily enjoys competing in speech and debate, reading, and listening to music.
Rafael Gómez
Rafael Gómez is a junior at Norman North High School who relished taking part in the 2023 Voices of Oklahoma program. At the 2024 Oklahoma Archaeology Conference, he jointly presented a poster he collaborated on with other members of his Voices cohort. He is interested in histories of the Americas and spends free time riding his bicycle (with a helmet, of course).
Aaron Patton
Aaron Patton is a passionate junior majoring in Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. With a strong commitment to using anthropology as a means for positive social change, Aaron has dedicated himself to making a difference in his community. Aaron's journey with the Oklahoma Public Archaeology Network (OKPAN) began during an internship called "Voices of Oklahoma." Since then, his partnership with OKPAN has deepened, allowing him to further explore the transformative power of anthropology. As an intern at OKPAN, Aaron has honed his skills in archaeology and anthropology while actively advocating for social change. He believes in the potential of anthropology as a tool to empower individuals and communities, fostering a greater understanding of our shared history and heritage.
Abbey Sempebwa
Abigail Sempebwa recently earned her Master of Liberal Arts degree in Museum Studies from Harvard University. During her time at Harvard, she worked as a collections assistant at the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Multidisciplinary Studies degree in 2021 and served as the TA in Voices of Greenwood that summer. In January of 2024, she had the exciting opportunity to visit the archives of the Louvre museum and Palace of Versailles for her master’s research which focused on the safeguarding of museum collections in wartime. This summer, she will work as a research assistant for the Monuments Men and Women Foundation, an organization that completes the unfinished mission of the Monuments Men- returning missing art to the rightful owners from Nazi looting. Abbey accepted a scholarship at Texas Christian University for a Master of Arts degree in art history with a concentration in High Italian Renaissance, and will begin in the fall of 2024.
Norah Hutchinson
Norah Hutchison is a freshman at the University of Tulsa, double-majoring in English and History. She took part in the Voices of Oklahoma program in 2024 and became a peer mentor the following year. She is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation and has long been a passionate advocate for Native students. During high school, she served as president of her school’s Native American student organization, where she worked to bring students together, creating a stronger sense of cultural awareness and community. In the summer of 2025, as an incoming freshman at TU, she took part in the Undergraduate Research Challenge, where she worked on annotating a short story edition to create awareness for near-lost works of literature and preserve literary history. She also took part in the Jumpstart program at the University of Tulsa with the Honors College, an academic trip to Rome that deepened her passion for historical studies and preserving culture. She currently serves as a fellow with Teach For America’s Ignite program, helping students develop their reading skills, driven by her love for reading and education. She hopes to pursue a career in law, to become an intellectual property lawyer, where she can advocate for the protection of creative and cultural works.
Maesyn Littlehead
Maeysn is senior at Edmond Memorial High School. She attended the Voices of Oklahoma 2025 internship with OU. She plan to major in anthropology at OU and has a passion for learning about the way we people interact with each other in the present and past. .
We are writing to ask for your help identifying Oklahoma high school students who would be a good fit for a paid, for-credit University of Oklahoma internship this summer. The internship will teach no more than ten (10) students about archaeology, Native American boarding schools, and ways that archaeology can help reveal unique information about boarding schools in and beyond Oklahoma. The internship starts from the premise that archaeology can be a powerful tool for revealing difficult truths about historic events and that it can help communities build more equitable futures. The internship does not require a final paper; instead, students engage their creativity to design an academic-style poster based on their archaeological interests. Additionally, they will collaborate with an Indigenous artist to collectively create the annual “Oklahoma Archaeology Month” poster, which will be distributed statewide two months after the internship ends.
Students are not expected to have any previous background in archaeology. Instead, we seek students who are:
Interns will receive:
Interns will:
Nomination and selection process:
The nomination deadline is January 28th, with student applications due in mid-February.
The selection process is as follows:
1. Teachers, counselors, and community members nominate students they see as a good fit for the program. Students may self-nominate, but if they do, they must provide the name and contact information of a teacher or counselor who will support their nomination.
2. Upon receiving a nomination, Voices staff reach out to the student and invite them to complete a brief online application.
3. Well qualified students are invited to participate in a Zoom interview with Voices instructors and, often, other applicants.
4. Applicants are notified of their acceptance status.
If you have any questions or would like to chat about nominating a student, please feel free to call Kaylyn Moore at 479-883-0384.
The Voices of Oklahoma internship launched an exciting new challenge starting in the summer of 2024, encouraging students to demonstrate their creativity and understanding of archaeology through the creation of academic posters as their final projects. Each poster represents a unique perspective, showcasing the imaginative approaches of the students to the field of archaeology. Below, we are excited to present the collection of posters from our Summer 2024 and 2025 cohorts, reflecting their diverse interests and insights into archaeology!
