John W. Sanders Internship and Education Fund
Education is the most basic mission of the San Juan Basin Archaeological Society. We accomplish this in several ways: our monthly speaker program, field trips for members to archaeological sites and museums in the greater Four Corners region, educational outreach through school programs, and funding student internships at Fort Lewis College.
The John W. Sanders Internship and Education Fund is named in honor of John Sanders, our late friend, scholar, humorist, intrepid hiker, and chapter founder. Since its inception we have funded over $20,000 in internships. The director of the Center of Southwest Studies ensures that the scholarship directly benefits the students and coordinates the activities of each intern at the Center. We invite our interns and all FLC students to attend our monthly public presentations. We ask each intern to share a brief presentation about their completed project at our annual holiday brunch.
If you wish to make a charitable tax-deductible donation to this worthy endeavor, please make your check out to SJBAS, indicate it is for the John W. Sanders Internship and Education Fund, and mail it to: SJBAS, Attn: Treasurer, PO Box 3153, Durango, CO 81302. For more information, contact Lyle Hancock at lylehancock54@gmail.com.
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Profile of current John W Sanders Intern… in her own words.
Hello! My name is Leah Pascarella, and I am the Fall 2025 John W. Sanders intern at the Center of Southwest Studies. I am a senior at Fort Lewis College, majoring in Anthropology and Environmental Conservation and Management, with a certificate in Geographical Information Systems. On campus, I regularly serve as a teaching assistant in the anthropology and environmental science departments. I am also the secretary of Fort Lewis’s S.E.E.D.S. (Strategies for Ecological Education, Diversity, and Sustainability) chapter and participate in both the Anthropology and Geology Clubs. In my free time, I enjoy reading, swimming, biking, and hiking with my dog.
Last academic year, I participated in several internships. In the spring, I was a museum student worker at the Center of Southwest Studies. I gained experience with the archives, gallery, new acquisitions, and inventorying collections. Over the summer, I interned with Texas State Parks’ Wildland Fire and Habitat Management. I traveled in Texas and completed habitat restoration and endangered species monitoring at over 15 parks. I look forward to experiencing archaeology in museums during my internship with the San Juan Basin Archaeological Society this fall.