INTRODUCING THE AIA-NYS SCHOLARS RECIPIENTS - COHORT VII (2025-2026)
The AIA-New York Society is pleased to introduce our newest cohort of Scholars. Our sixth cohort consists of six students from colleges and universities throughout the five boroughs. Our Scholars receive membership into the Archaeological Institute of America and a subscription to the American Journal of Archaeology and Archaeology magazine; they are invited to report on their archaeological work in our Newsletter; and they attend various lecture-meetings of the AIA-NYS. Each spring, members of this Scholars cohort are eligible to apply for a $2000 scholarship to support their participation in an excavation project, field school, or other archaeological research endeavor.
Ainsley Gillespie, NYU
Ainsley Gillespie is a sophomore studying anthropological archaeology at New York University. She works as a research assistant in the Department of Anthropology’s new Historical Ecology and Human Landscapes lab, which focuses on reconstructing past environments and human response to climate change through geoarchaeological and microbotanical analysis. She is particularly interested in the ethics of archaeology and the “curation crisis” and hopes to pursue an M.A. in museum studies to further her passion for accessible and responsible curation practices.
Vita Jackman Kuwabara, NYU
Vita Jackman Kuwabara is a senior undergraduate in NYU’s Anthropology honors program, with minors in Archaeology and Politics. She has excavated at an Iron Age settlement in Portugal and recently completed a field season at two Paleolithic caves in southern Kazakhstan, alongside assisting ongoing lithic use-wear analysis research in the Anthrotopography Lab at the Center for the Study of Human Origins (CSHO). She is excited to continue developing her interests in prehistoric archaeology, human–environment relationships, and cultural heritage as she prepares for future graduate studies.
Julia Kiaer, Barnard
Julia Kiaer is a senior at Barnard College studying archaeology and creative writing. She is originally from Portland, Oregon, and has done excavation and lab work in New Mexico, Peru, Norway, and New York City. She plans to pursue a graduate education in archaeology after graduation.
Lauren Malkoun, ISAW-NYU
Lauren Malkoun is a first-generation Lebanese-American PhD student at the NYU Institute for the Study of the Ancient World where she is specializing in the archaeology of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. She received her masters in Mediterranean Archaeology from Sapienza University of Rome (2025) and a B.A. in Archaeology and a B.A. in Italian from the University of Southern California (2023). Lauren has excavated in Menorca and Carrascosa (Castilla La Mancha), Spain; at Pompeii, Italy; at the Athenian Agora in Athens, Greece; and on the Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy. Her research interests regard Mediterranean networks, landscape archaeology, digital humanities, post-colonialism, and heritage preservation.
Karina Osorio-Klinger, Queens College
Karina Osorio-Klinger is a senior at Queens College majoring in Anthropology. Her research interests are landscapes, ceremonial architecture, and the Maya Preclassic period.
Anna Selden, ISAW-NYU
Anna Selden is a first-year PhD student at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. Her research focuses on the visual culture of the Aegean, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia in the first millennium BCE, particularly through the themes of gender, the body, and dress in figural representations. She has excavated at Tell Keisan, Cerro del Villar, and Lyktos Archaeological Project. She hopes to further investigate the identity of eunuch priests in the Eastern Mediterranean through art historical, archaeological, and textual lenses.
