Sarah Anderson ‘22, the 2022 Founders’ Day Award winner from the College of Undergraduate Studies, talks about the power of castles and being the first person from her family to graduate from college.
Most Central Floridians don’t need to be told that people have a special affinity for castles. After all, the man who put Orlando on the map, and who knew a thing or two about appealing to the public, made them the centerpiece of his theme parks. Like Walt Disney, Sarah Anderson sees the public’s fascination with the formidable structures as a resource to be tapped.
“I have always wanted to work with castles because they are such a powerful tool for public humanities,” says Anderson. “That process of getting people engaged in traditions, history and heritage has always been a driving force in my studies, and castles are a great vessel for that work.”
Anderson points to the fact that castles and fortifications are top tourist attractions in many places, including the Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle and, closer to home, St. Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos. But she’s not interested in the ones that are still standing. Her focus is on the practice of “slighting,” the deliberate destruction of high-status buildings, like castles, to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. A participant in the Honors Undergraduate Thesis program, Anderson’s research centers on castles of the British Isles in the 11th and 12th centuries.
“I knew I wanted to study castles, but my interest in this specific area grew from a comparative analysis I did between two kings and how they utilized castles,” explains Anderson. “That’s when I discovered that they would sometimes deliberately destroy their own castles. I started learning about why they might do such a thing and how they would go about it, and my passion for the subject took off from there.”
Anderson fell in love with Central Florida during a semester-long internship at Disney World and decided to transfer to UCF from a college in her home state of Oklahoma. In other words, this huge fan of castles came to the area to work for a company that features one in its logo, then ended up at a university whose mascot is a knight. Was that just a coincidence?
At UCF, Anderson earned a BA degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, with minors in Archeology, History and Medieval and Renaissance Studies. When she graduates in the fall, Anderson will become the first person in her family to have done so.
“My family was poor, so when I first started college, all I wanted to do was make money,” says Anderson. “I started out wanting to be a pharmacist, because I had heard they make a lot of money right out of college.”
But everything changed for Anderson when she attended her first history class in college.
“The professor just captivated me and I decided that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, even if the pay wasn’t going to be that great,” she says. “They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. That was the first time I actually believed it.”
Once she’s earned her undergraduate degree, Anderson plans to pursue her doctorate and eventually become a college professor. Ultimately, though, she hopes to practice public humanities on location at some of the castles and sites she’s studied.
“My dream is to work for Rick Steves, the European travel expert, as a tour guide,” says Anderson. “I would love to create a castle tour and earn a living exploring those sites and sharing my passion with others.”
Leading tourists down the corridors of Europe’s grand castles would be a world away from where she started. Anderson, who is part Cherokee Indian and part Irish, grew up in a small town of a thousand people near Tulsa.
“For anyone to get out of that town is a big deal,” Anderson says. “I’m learning everyday and developing skills that I never would have had if I hadn’t believed in myself and followed the path I set for myself.”
She credits her mom and dad for her ambition, drive and strong work ethic.
“My parents didn’t finish middle school, much less high school, so they really encouraged me to go further than they were able to,” explains Anderson. “They were very supportive of me, and a driving force for my success was wanting to show them that I could do it.”
Anderson also points to UCF’s diversity – in people, in opportunities and in support – as a big factor in getting her where she is today.
“The ability to choose from so many different fields of study in creating my Interdisciplinary Studies major, to not be limited in where my interests took me, has been amazing,” she explains. “I’ve been able to experience UCF from so many different angles. The administrators, department chairs and advisors do all they can to offer students everything they need to succeed.”
The pandemic has precluded Anderson from traveling to Europe to visit the sites she’s studied in person, but she hopes to study abroad one day. In the meantime, she plans to continue her research – even when she doesn’t have to.
“Now that it’s the summer, I’m planning to do field research at some archeological digs,” says Anderson. “That will benefit my college career and allow me to earn college credit, but in an outdoor setting where I can get out from behind a desk.”
Getting out from behind the proverbial desk is a guiding principle for Anderson.
“If you want something bad enough, you may as well try to achieve it,” she says. “The job outlook for Humanities professors isn’t great, so I could earn my doctorate and then end up just working a regular job. But I’ve made a journey and seized opportunities that most people where I’m from couldn’t imagine, so it seems like a waste not to chase my dream.”