Dentition and the evolution of human skulls have sparked Allison’s interest, especially in the context of ecological factors that can affect a species’ evolutionary process and push genetic mutations. With a longstanding curiosity about the environment, she hopes that environmental matters will underlie her project for the Anthropology Senior Capstone. It helps that she has grown confident in her research techniques, citing that as a skill growth she is especially proud of over the last three years. Especially in her Biological Anthropology course under Dr. Mark Groover, she “learned what to look for and how to find resources that are both informational and available” while exploring the how and why of human evolution.

Anthropological academic careers like Allison’s have been supported for decades by the Byron L. Troyer scholarship. Byron Troyer permitted the Ball State Anthropology Department’s field schools to conduct archaeological digs on his land in the 1970s. Former Anthropology Department chair Elizabeth Glenn assisted Troyer with his research on Native American life in Indiana for his newspaper and magazine articles, as well as books on Indiana history. Troyer edited the Hoosierland Magazine and Outdoor Indiana.