When major declaration season arrived in Anna Brooker’s sophomore spring, she was uncertain what to declare. No particular subject was on her mind when she enrolled at Wake Forest, and none had stuck out since either.
Ultimately, it was a poll on Snapchat that led her to anthropology.
“I put a poll up on my Snapchat story saying ‘What should I major in and what should I minor in?’” Brooker recalled. “Anthropology ended up winning.”
Despite her unique path into anthropology, Brooker realizes now that her interest in the field was cultivated long before her friends voted in a poll on Snapchat. Growing up traveling around the world due to her father’s role in the military, Brooker recalls being intrigued by the lives of others.
“My favorite activity has always just been people-watching,” Brooker said. “I’ve always loved sitting somewhere and watching people walk by and noticing different things about them and about the place I’m in.”
In anthropology, Brooker found an outlet for her people-centered curiosity that offered an opportunity to learn about herself at the same time.
“Yes, you’re learning about other people,” Brooker said about anthropology, “but the point of that, in my opinion, is to be able to apply what you learn back to yourself and how you live your own life.”
As an anthropology major, with an additional passion for studio art and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), Brooker sees herself as a bit of an anomaly within her circles at Wake Forest.
“It’s funny because I feel like sometimes I lead two very different lives at school,” Brooker said.
Brooker views her anthropology major and studio art courses as being “heady and theoretical,” while ROTC requires her to be “assertive and disciplined.” She described how most students in ROTC major in politics and international affairs, with no interest in anthropology. Meanwhile, none of her anthropology classmates are involved in ROTC.
“The two main parts of my Wake Forest life contradict a lot and I think that’s really cool,” Brooker said.
Following graduation, Brooker is set to fulfill her four-year requirement in the Army working in what she describes as “Army HR.” Her training will commence at Fort Knox in Kentucky on June 11 and continue at Fort Jackson in South Carolina in September.
After that, Brooker will be stationed elsewhere — hopefully abroad, she said. Wherever she is, she hopes to continue cultivating the skills she has honed as an anthropology major.
“I want to use [my time in the Army] to see different parts of the world that I’ve never been to before [and] learn about different people from all over the world,” Brooker said, “[I want to] learn about leadership and myself, too.”
Following her required four years of service, Brooker is unsure what will come next. If she likes her role in the military, she’ll consider a career in the Army. If not, she’s considering graduate school for art therapy or anthropology. In the meantime, Brooker is both excited and weary for all of the new opportunities to come, while also being grateful for what Wake Forest has offered her.
“My time at Wake Forest has been amazing. I’ve met — hopefully — some lifelong friends that I’ll run into again,” she said. “I’m a totally different person, I think, in all the good ways, than I was freshman year.”
