Home » Student Spotlight – Sam Alika Bautista Bader

Student Spotlight – Sam Alika Bautista Bader

Student Spotlight – Sam Alika Bautista Bader January 25, 2022

Sam Alika Bautista Bader

Lawrence University, anthropology

GSEF Fellow, Cohort 1
Research Placement: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“This summer, I have been pursuing my dream of doing interdisciplinary anthropological research on the cultural intersections and evolution of language and music of Hawaiʻi, through decolonized indigenous methodology.”


Sam is a rising senior at Lawrence University, pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology while also invested in the ethnic studies and music departments. He was raised in Hawaiʻi and has actually been able to take long walks on the beach, when it’s not too crowded! He enjoys lending a helping hand, eating, making connections across cultures, and collaboratively sharing music and laughs with others.

What kind of research are you working on this summer? Who are you working with?

This summer, I have been pursuing my dream of doing interdisciplinary anthropological research on the cultural intersections and evolution of language and music of Hawaiʻi, through decolonized indigenous methodology. I have had the pleasure of working on this with the guidance of my faculty mentor, Dr. Jenny L. Davis (Chickasaw) from the Anthropology Department, and also affiliated with departments of American Indian Studies and Women and Gender Studies, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

What part(s) of this experience will benefit you most? How so?

I’ve really enjoyed being to experience the independence and freedom that comes with being a graduate student. Though it is difficult to manage all of the time that is allotted and balance the workload, the ability to have the freedom to research what I am passionate about has been so rewarding and eye-opening to future possibilities. I have also been enjoying the amount of resources available at the graduate level, both in an academic sense and networking/professional development sense.

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