Help Fund Hallie’s Mexico Field School

Dear family and friends,

This coming summer I will be attending an archaeology field school in Tula, Mexico that will last the entire month of July. This project is called The Tula Region Epiclassic Interaction and Migration Project (TRIMP) and is in the area right beside Tula. One of my professors at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Dr. Anderson, has done work in this area and received a two year grant to excavate this sight since there is evidence of previous occupations by the Toltec state. In addition, this excavation needs to be carried out as soon as possible because this area is in danger of being destroyed by new housing developments. In fact, some of the area has already been taken over by new housing. Luckily, Dr. Anderson was able to stop this process and convince the Mexican government that excavating this site would benefit the community as well as scholars because it may contain pertinent information about the Epiclassic period which was around AD 550 to 900. For those of you who do not know who the Toltec people were, they occupied Central Mexico before the Aztecs and were models for almost everything the Aztecs did. Current information on the Toltecs does not reveal where they came from, what their role was in relation to other states of people, and why they declined, but this field school will hopefully reveal some or all of this information.

I am beyond excited to participate in this field school, especially since only three students from MNSU were chosen to attend this field school. As you can imagine, a trip to Mexico is not cheap, I must pay for the tuition as a summer course, get a passport, plane ticket and school insurance, as well as have some extra spending money of course. Overall, the total expenses of this trip are estimated to be around $2,000. I am writing you not only to inform you of this exciting opportunity, but also to gain your support to help fund my trip. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated and I will be sure to let everyone know how my trip turns out.