College of Liberal Arts
Anthropology and linguistics double major Matia Wartes has made the most of every opportunity during her time at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ. From beginning as a dual enrollment student to leading academic coaching initiatives, founding student organizations and preparing for graduate school, she has built an undergraduate experience defined by curiosity, leadership and a commitment to helping others succeed.
She shares more about her experiences, the people who shaped her journey and the advice she has for future students in the Q&A below.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Matia Wartes. I am studying anthropology and linguistics as a double major, with a minor in Iñupiaq language, and I have been a student at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ since I was 15 years old.
What brought you to ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, and what made you decide that it was the right place for you?
I started at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ as a dual enrollment student through the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Advantage Program. I was homeschooled at the time and was looking for online language courses, so I decided to take Spanish 101 through ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ. It went pretty well, so I continued taking classes full time until I officially enrolled as a degree-seeking student.
I started at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ because of the flexibility it offered, and honestly, that's the primary reason I've stayed so long. I can take online classes, asynchronous classes, evening classes and summer classes. I'm able to organize my education in a way that works well for me and still have a life outside of school.
I was able to move to New Zealand for six months in my senior year, just randomly, and I was still able to take classes. I was able to continue my student job (as the lead academic coach in the Student Success Center) the whole time with no issue. ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ is the reason for that. It’s super open to the nontraditional student experience.
In your own words, why study the liberal arts?
I think studying the liberal arts is important because it fosters cross-cultural, comparative and critical thinking in both real-world and theoretical contexts. When you study the liberal arts, you aren't just getting the training you need to go into your specific field. You're learning how to think, how to connect ideas across multiple subjects and how to be open to a broad variety of perspectives. You're going to leave with a specific degree, yes, but I think the best thing you get from a liberal arts education is a mindset for understanding and analyzing the world around you.
What has your experience in the Department of Anthropology been like, and what makes it special?
My experience in the anthropology department at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ has been incredibly supportive. Everyone I meet in lectures, at events and every instructor I speak to is always so excited to learn about what interests you, where you want to go after you graduate and what kinds of classes you're interested in.
I think the range of experiences you encounter in anthropology is also super important. Of course, the whole discipline is based on cross-cultural learning, but the students and faculty all come from such different backgrounds and have unique experiences. Everyone's really passionate about anthropology in a way that I don't always see in other disciplines, or at least we're all just really open about it, so we never stop talking about it.
Anthropology at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ specifically also stands out because it's based on a four-field approach. Every student, regardless of your interests or where you want to go after school, is going to get at least an introduction to linguistic, biological and cultural anthropology, as well as archaeology. I think that allows students with a less defined focus or experience coming into the department to really get a taste of what kind of subject works for them. It also ensures that those of us graduating from the program can draw from ideas across a variety of subdisciplines and understand research conducted in very different fields with more accuracy than we could through a super-focused program.
Was there a professor, mentor, or community that made a big impact on your journey? How?
I've been supported by so many people at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, within CLA, within my job and even by professors I took electives with. But one person who really impacted my time at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, and my mindset throughout the program, is Dr. Elaine Drew. She's a medical anthropologist in the anthropology department, and I only took two classes with her: a medical anthropology seminar and Birth Across Cultures.
Her field is already very interesting, but she teaches in a way that allows students to have a lot of discussions with each other. She lectures in a very conversational way, so students are also the ones communicating a great deal of the information we're learning. Her teaching style is great, but what impacted me the most is how open she is to sitting down and talking with students about their experiences and giving us advice.
I've met with her multiple times about topics that were technically unrelated to her classes, just to talk about my academic path, what I want to do in the future and what I can do to increase my knowledge base. She wrote some wonderful letters of recommendation for me and has continued to be incredibly supportive throughout my graduate school search.
What are you excited about next, and how has ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ prepared you for it?
Well, I'm planning to attend graduate school. I'm currently deciding between programs in Scotland, Wales, the States and here at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ.
ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ was so integral in me feeling prepared to go further in my education. Not just because I've taken the relevant courses to pursue what I want to pursue, but also because I've become much more comfortable learning and asking questions. ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, and anthropology specifically, really allows students to be in that place of learning and gives you the space to take the time to discover and comprehend what you don't know.
Anytime you're in an academic environment, you're in a place where you don't understand something. I think ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ is really good at giving students that time and space to recognize that they don't understand something and be open to learning and comprehending new information.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience at ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ?
I think one thing that ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ affords that I don't hear about at a lot of other institutions is the ability to create opportunities for yourself. One thing that's easy to do at any point during your undergraduate experience is start a student organization. I've been an officer in four student clubs, and I founded three of them. It's been a really exciting experience. They've all been related to CLA and the College of Indigenous Studies. You get to meet all sorts of really cool people, involve the community and gain leadership experience that you wouldn't necessarily get in your classes ... I think just ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ is such a great place to try all these things out, test things out, see if you're interested in it, because you might find something that you're super interested in that you never would have thought of before.
Congratulations again to Matia Wartes on being recognized as one of the Department of Anthropology's 2026 Outstanding Students of the Year. Explore what the Department of Anthropology has to offer, and check back for more Outstanding Student spotlights from across the College of Liberal Arts.
