{"id":144487,"date":"2024-12-16T10:42:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T15:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487//?p=144487"},"modified":"2025-01-08T12:40:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T17:40:19","slug":"digging-deeper-how-a-ucf-anthropology-graduate-uncovered-her-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487//digging-deeper-how-a-ucf-anthropology-graduate-uncovered-her-purpose/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487//","title":{"rendered":"Digging Deeper: How a UCF Anthropology Graduate Uncovered Her Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether Melanie Langgle /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201924 was sitting at her desk or sitting on the sidelines, she often felt like she was falling behind. From struggling to grasp lessons throughout grade school to training tirelessly for volleyball, every step of her journey was a fight to prove herself./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

At just 5-feet 2-inches, she wasn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019t the tallest on the volleyball court, but her fundamentals, determination and father/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019s support helped her secure a full-ride college scholarship. When her collegiate athletic career ended abruptly, Langgle was forced to confront a major insecurity: was she truly smart enough to find her place in the world? For this UCF anthropology graduate, the answer came through perseverance, a community of like-minded peers and a rediscovered sense of purpose./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

Breaking Ground/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

Langgle/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019s love for volleyball started at nine years old. Her father/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019s promise to help her achieve her dream of playing college volleyball became the reason she pursued higher education instead of joining the U.S. Marines like her father and uncles. However, losing her athletic scholarship derailed her plans and left her paying for college out of pocket./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201cAfter losing my athletic scholarship, I started to think about what I really wanted to do with my life. [UCF] gave me the room to figure out what I wanted and didn’t want,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201cI knew that [UCF] has opportunities that I could take advantage of, which is really what drew me to [it]./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

After transferring to UCF in 2022, she found exactly what she needed: a community of mentors and peers who helped her rediscover her confidence./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

Finding Anthropology /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2014 And Herself/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

Initially a history major, Langgle discovered her passion for anthropology while taking courses on the discipline, realizing its critical role in contributing knowledge for historians to write about. Joining UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019s Hominids Anonymous club, the university/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019s official undergraduate anthropology club, introduced her to a network of like-minded students and internship opportunities./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201cI found a community of peers and mentors who are supportive, uplifting and took me seriously right away /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2014 which hasn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019t always been the case in my life,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201cI had a great foundation with the anthropology department, my advisors and just [UCF] itself./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n

Her most transformative experience came through the Cape Canaveral Archaeological Mitigation Project, a for-credit internship in collaboration with the U.S. Space Force, where she helped excavate artifacts on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/u2019s property./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/144487/n