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Julia Faria remembers the life-changing moment when she stumbled on a National Geographic documentary on the hidden secrets of Egypt — and was immediately captivated by it.

“I started researching archaeology programs in Canada that same day,” she recalls. “Looking back now, I’m so glad I trusted that initial spark of curiosity, because I love where it has gotten me today.”

Today, Faria is a new alumnus from SFU’s Archaeology program, crossing the stage this October and already working in her first job post-graduation.

“It’s my dream job,” she says. “It’s exactly the kind of hands-on, meaningful work that excites me.”

Faria is working at Campfire Archaeology and Heritage Ltd, an archaeological research and heritage management consulting firm owned by another SFU alumnus, Greg Morrisey.

She credits the network she built in school for helping her land the job.

“Archaeology is such a connection-driven field, and I truly believe the greatest gift I got from being involved was the people.”

As an undergraduate student, Faria got involved in leadership opportunities in her Faculty and in the Archaeology Student Society (of which she served as president until she graduated). Through those activities, she built a strong community of peers, mentors and colleagues that gave her the support and inspiration she needed to prepare for her future career.

To get the hands-on experience she needed, she joined field schools locally and abroad.

Her first field school was local, and took place in both Squamish, B.C. and North Vancouver. If it wasn’t raining during those days, she remembers, it was blistering hot. And the work? Heavy and demanding.

Still, Faria loved it.

“I felt challenged, inspired, and, for the first time, truly part of the profession. It gave me a realistic glimpse of what archaeology in the Pacific Northwest looks like, and it cemented my decision to pursue this path.”

She muses about how, before she started at SFU, she used to think that archaeology was only about digging and analyzing artifacts. She knows now that the field is broader than that.

“There’s the scientific side, the theoretical side and even things like underwater archaeology, which I had no idea existed when I started,” she says. “At first, it was a little overwhelming to realize how wide the discipline really is, but it also pushed me to explore different perspectives and find where I was most passionate.”