Claire Dodos Awarded Berndt Memorial Prize

There are many reasons to study at university, and many answers too. It can feel overwhelming to make just one choice, which has the ability to profoundly impact your life.

Santa Maria College graduate Claire Dodos (Class of 2016) knows this feeling all too well. It took her a couple of course changes to find her groove and complete a degree that satisfied her need to better understand the world. 

When Claire completed high school, she was torn between pursuing her two favourite subjects – Biology and English. Initially, she kicked off a degree in Biology to calm her ‘general millennial climate anxiety’. However, statistics and excel spreadsheets weren’t it for her, so she quickly transferred to Cultural and Literary studies.

It was in this course, that Claire collided with her true passion, anthropology.

“It was in one of my literature classes that I met an Anthropology major and learned how the field was focussed on understanding how societies work and what it means to be human across various cultures. I knew instantly that this was the place for me and transferred over.”, said Claire.

Six years on, she now has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and Sociology, as well as First Class Honours in Cultural Anthropology. Oh, and not to mention, has only completed one spreadsheet so far!

You may ask, what is her biggest piece of advice in getting here? According to Claire, it is all about pursuing what is of interest to you, not the things you think are expected to or believe are ‘safe’ options.

“I have never regretted studying Anthropology, as I’m always interested in my work, of which there’s an abundance! It’s a complete fallacy that there are no jobs in the Arts. I can assure you that we’re in high demand, and we’re definitely not looking at spreadsheets either!”, said Claire.

If you can’t already tell how passionate Claire is about humanities and social sciences, it is reflected in all that she has accomplished. 

Aside from making the Vice Chancellors List on multiple occasions throughout her studies, she was also awarded First Class Honours, the highest possible score that can be achieved, for her research project.

“In Anthropology, an Honours project is self-directed, providing the opportunity to publish your own independent research and become an anthropologist”, said Claire.

Throughout her bachelor’s degree, Claire dedicated a lot of her time on Country with Elders, learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture from the land. Consequently, her Honours thesis focussed on Rio Tinto’s calculated destruction of the Putuu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people’s sacred Juukan Gorge, revealing the oppression of Aboriginal rights in Australian legislation.