Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2025 graduates.
When she began college, Andrea Chacon wanted a way to combine all of her passions.
Now, she's graduating this spring with dual degrees in anthropology and Italian and a minor in economics from Arizona State University.
After graduation, Chacon plans to head to Ravenna, Italy, for a summer internship as a curator for the Biblioteca Classense. Founded in 1803, the library is one of the oldest institutions dedicated to the protection of Italian cultural heritage, housing almost 850,000 books.
“I was lucky enough to choose anthropology as my primary degree and it gave me enough space to pursue my other interests in Italian, economics, fashion and linguistics,” said Chacon.
“It has allowed me to create a portfolio of my varied interests in a way that can complement each other and make me stand out, giving me the ability to reference many different moments in history and case studies when it's relevant.”
During her studies, she was an apprentice for the Center for Archaeology and Society Repository in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, working in collections care and to help maintain, sort and catalog artifacts. She also worked as an apprentice for the Deer Valley Petroglyphs Preserve, where she helped with information storage and visitor data collection. Chacon also interned for AmeriCorps through the Hustle PHX Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
Chacon studied Italian language and culture in Recanati, Italy, through a study abroad opportunity from the School of International Letters and Cultures. Language was something she grew fond of, and she presented and volunteered in the Graduate Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Symposium.
Read on to learn more about Chacon’s Sun Devil journey.
Question: What was your “aha” moment when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in?
Answer: I had a moment where I felt like I had found my place. It was during my sophomore year when I was one of the undergraduate presenters at the Graduate Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and TESOL Symposium. I was surrounded by others, had the chance to share my research and got to learn more about theirs.
Aside from that, another moment would have been outside of school when I visited the Natural History Museum in New York City and saw Lucy in person. I actually cried from being able to see her after having studied her for the last few years.
Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?
A: Many of my professors have taught me important lessons, but the one that has stuck with me the most was when my freshman-year professor, Charles Perreault, told a story about a mistake he made on a dig. That was able to take off a lot of the pressure and imposter syndrome. It shows that no matter how accomplished someone may be, mistakes can and will happen at any stage of the game.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?
A: Something is always better than nothing. Even on the days where getting out of bed is the hardest in the world, dragging yourself out of bed to sit on the floor can be enough.
Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?
A: The concourse level of Hayden on the steps, as well as the Design and the Arts Library. Outside of campus, I love going to King Coffee down the street to be able to lock in on one of the benches along their art wall.
Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?
A: A problem that I would want to help solve is trying to sustainably remove the waste from the fashion industry and find a way to eliminate the need for it to go into landfills. I’d do this by finding a way to recycle them into a potential energy source or decompose the synthetic materials without creating toxic runoff.
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