Seth Schermerhorn was no stranger to long study days and meetings with his advisors, Dr’s. Kathleen, Sherman, Jeffrey Snodgrass and Mary Van Buren, during his time as an undergraduate student in the Department of Anthropology.

When you’re in the thick of classes, studying for mid-terms and working on those final projects for capstone, the long-game can seem daunting. But, as Schermerhorn will tell you, the rigorous technical training and at-times intense course load has a payoff.

This past February, Schermerhorn was offered and accepted a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Indigenous Religious Studies at Hamilton College, a small residential liberal arts college in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York.

When Seth first came to Colorado State University in 2002, he was eager to learn. He not only pursued the major in Anthropology but by the time he graduated in 2006, had also earned a major in History and in Liberal Arts with additional certificates in Interdisciplinary Religious Studies and Native American Studies.

This thirst for knowledge and drive to achieve a well-rounded education before leaving his undergraduate program made Schermerhorn a perfect candidate for graduate school at CU-Boulder, where he studied indigenous religious traditions and Native American religious freedom issues in the Religious Studies Department. He graduated with his master’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2008.

His thesis, which was focused on the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona, took him to the region and while in Tempe, he began his doctoral work. Schermerhorn is completing his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Arizona State University and will defend his dissertation on O’odham pilgrimages to Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico later this spring.

We wish Seth the best in his new position at Hamilton College and are so proud to count him an alum!