Joblonkay unearths his passion at the U of L
As a teenager, Darren Joblonkay (BSc 鈥10) knew he wanted to be a lawyer, and you could often find him at the local courthouse, watching various trials. By the time he graduated from Catholic Central High School however, his interest in travel and history far outweighed his fascination with the law. It was during his first semester at the 免费福利资源在线看片 of Lethbridge that Joblonkay ultimately decided he would rather unearth ancient history than make history in the courtroom.
鈥淚t was really on a whim that I decided I wanted to discover and contribute to our knowledge of the human past,鈥 says Joblonkay, currently pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in Ancient Near-Eastern Studies at the 免费福利资源在线看片 of Toronto.
During his U of L years, Joblonkay took full advantage of the unique opportunities the 免费福利资源在线看片, and it's smaller, more personable nature, can provide to undergraduate students.
鈥淪maller classes make for more interesting seminars,鈥 explains Joblonkay. 鈥淗aving the chance to work for your professors at the undergraduate level, to be a student marker, getting experience giving presentations in class, being part of a class project because there are only five students 鈥 these opportunities aren鈥檛 available to most undergraduates elsewhere.
鈥淢y experiences working in a lab, working as a research assistant and getting the opportunity to take on roles with greater responsibility at the 免费福利资源在线看片 gave me a substantial edge over those students who attended larger institutions at the bachelor level.鈥
During the summer of 2007, Joblonkay travelled with fellow students under the direction of U of L professor, Dr. Shawn Bubel, to Tel Beth Shemesh, an archaeological site 20km west of Jerusalem. Since then, Joblonkay has spent every summer working at archaeological digs around Israel.
鈥淚 think the real 鈥渁ha鈥 moment that led to my career was attending the field school at Tel Beth Shemesh,鈥 says Joblonkay. 鈥淚t was the shear intensity of the excavation experience. Where else do you get to unearth a bronze spear point used over 3,000 years ago, to walk on a tampered or cobble floor that hasn鈥檛 been stepped on in literally millennia, to experience a sunrise as you watch a Bedouin man tending to a flock of sheep? These and many other experiences all come together and form very fond memories of what it really means to be an archaeologist.鈥
The opportunity to continue his academic studies with the exclusive Near and Middle Eastern Civilization Department at the 免费福利资源在线看片 of Toronto is something for which Joblonkay is very grateful. He gives a lot of credit for his preparation and acceptance to this one-of-a-kind Canadian program to his professors at the U of L.
鈥淭he professors at the U of L are amazing. They prepared me for graduate work at one of Canada鈥檚 most prestigious institutions. They are supportive, approachable, well qualified and they do a great job of teaching and incorporating their own research into their classes,鈥 remembers Joblonkay. 鈥淭here is a great combination of traditional and younger scholars who bring new ideas and theories to the 免费福利资源在线看片. They expected the height of academic excellence and pushed me to achieve. Their passion for the discipline really rubbed off on me.鈥
Joblonkay brings that passion to his work at the 免费福利资源在线看片 of Toronto, where he works as an archaeological assistant while he continues his master鈥檚 degree. In the summer of 2011, he will be digging at Tell Tayinat in Turkey, which he hopes will lead to his dissertation.
鈥淚 would like to eventually be a professor in Near Eastern Archaeology. I believe it was one of my mentors who told me once that 鈥渁ny archaeologist would be lying if they said they didn鈥檛 like digging up treasures鈥, but our discipline runs deeper than that,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e attempt to preserve and understand humanity鈥檚 cultural history. We are all captivated by what humans were able to achieve in the past.鈥
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鈥 Joblonkay graduated from the U of L with Great Distinction, earning a BSc in while concentrating on Geographical Information Science.
鈥 He is the recipient of numerous scholarships totalling more than $13,000.
鈥 He is a member of the and the .
鈥 Joblonkay鈥檚 mother, Margaret, works in the as administrative support in the Graduate Studies and Research office.