Alma Chavez

University of Kent Postgraduate Award - Forensic Anthropology

Alma Chavez, of El Paso, Texas, graduated from New Mexico State University in 2017 with a B.A. in Anthropology, Psychology and Foreign Languages, and minor in Forensic Science. Through her coursework in forensic anthropology, as well as her experiences in shadowing physical anthropologists in different countries, she was exposed to human rights issues in skeletal remains. Growing up in the U.S.-Mexico borderland region, Alma noticed a serious security problem for women and undocumented border crossers that has led to their unsuccessful and slow identification. This inspired a passion for researching identification methods in diverse and vulnerable individuals. While at Kent University, Alma will pursue research and development in forensic anthropology, focusing in generating more accurate identification methods to identify diverse group individuals, such as victims of femicide and undocumented border crossers. Alma plans to work with organizations in the UK that provide forensic knowledge to the local/state police. In her free time, she is excited to get involved with the Women’s Basketball Team at her host university. This Fulbright will give her the opportunity to learn how researchers in other countries investigate the recovery and analysis of human remains.