Caroline Donovan

Who Am I?

I was born and raised in Delaware! Did you know that Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution? I have always been fascinated by history and culture, so I knew that I wanted to attend a college that had deep historical roots. When my sister toured William & Mary, I was the one who fell in love! From that point forward, William & Mary was my dream school. Not only did I have the opportunity to attend W&M as a student, but I was also recruited to play defense for our women’s lacrosse team. I received my Bachelor’s in Anthropology and played four years of Division I lacrosse for the Tribe. After I graduated, I couldn’t stay away! I earned my Master’s in Historical Archaeology in May of 2024. During my graduate year, I hung up my cleats, grabbed a whistle and clipboard, and served as a graduate assistant coach for the women’s lacrosse team.

Why Admission?

During my five years at William & Mary, I had the opportunity to conduct independent research. I studied gender equity and sexual harassment in archaeological practice. My research questions originally targeted the discipline of archaeology, but my data eventually led me to investigate higher education more broadly: What does equity mean in higher education? How does a sense of belonging impact a student’s curiosity and development? How can we build safe and equitable environments that encourage students to be their authentic selves?
Studying these questions helped me to realize that I wanted to create immediate impact for students at the beginning of their journey in higher education. And the beginning of your journey starts here in the admission office! The W&M Admission office is your first impression of William & Mary. I’m honored that I get to be one of the first people to tell you that you belong!

Why W&M?

As a child, I had a passion for rocks, shells, and well…dirt. That passion for dirt turned into a passion for archaeology, and W&M was the perfect place to study my passion. I could read about archaeology in Washington Hall and then walk across the street and see it in action in Colonial Williamsburg! I fell in love with William & Mary’s historical roots. Flexibility also attracted me to William & Mary. I have always been a person with a multitude of passions and interests, so I wanted to attend a college that allowed me to be curious! William & Mary’s liberal arts curriculum offered me the freedom to explore all of my passions from archaeology to photography. William & Mary gave me the space and confidence to carve my own path!

Fun Facts:

• I own a business! My side-hustle and passion is photography, so you’ll catch me photographing graduations, weddings, and anything else I can find on the weekends.
• During graduate school, I lived and worked on the island of Rurutu in French Polynesia for 1 month. The island is only 12.6 square miles!
• One of my secret talents is jumping rope. During COVID, I bought a jump rope and quickly became obsessed with learning new tricks and dances. @lauren.jumps is my jump rope inspiration!