Scholar Profiles
June Drake
2003 - 2004 University Scholar
Mentor: Michael Warren
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
"I applied to the USP to enrich my college experience. I hope to gain a greater understanding of the culture and biology behind death perceptions, specifically in the case of the Mayan and Catholic influence in the Yucatan. From this, I hope to gain a greater understanding of what death signifies from domestic and international standpoints and learn how death affects people of all backgrounds."
June is an anthropology major, with minors in zoology and Latin American studies. She studied abroad during the summer of 2003 in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, where she conducted her USP research. She has been a director of the pre-medicine honor society Alpha Epsilon Delta and is a resident assistant in Murphree Hall. She is also a member of the anthropology honor society Lambda Alpha, Golden Key International Honor Society, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Phi Beta Delta International Scholars Honor Society and president of the UF Running Club. She enjoys long distance running, and placed second in an essay contest held by Runner’s World Magazine and Tylenol 8 Hour, writing about her first marathon experience.
Research Description:
An Ethnographic Survey of Death Perceptions in the Yucatán Peninsula, México
This project is designed to gain a better understanding behind the cultural and biological components of death perception in the Yucatán Peninsula, México. This research is being conducted on several levels. These levels currently include the following: interviews with cemetary keepers, interviews with locals, data collection from tombstones, analysis of variation in style of tombs, variation from cemetary to cemetary, observation of the care of human remains and possible comparision to historical references/data. At the conclusion of the research, I will write a thesis describing the multifactorial mechanisms behind death perceptions and ritual in the Yucatán. If possible, I hope to broadly compare this research to other mechanisms of cemetary ritual in the world.
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