Alana is a first-year graduate student with Colorado State's History department. She graduated with two degrees - history and anthropology - from Slippery Rock University in 2025. During her undergrad, she has presented research at multiple conferences for both history and archaeological fieldwork in Washington D.C., Kent OH, and Slippery Rock PA.

After graduating, Alana worked as an archaeological field technician from 2025-2026 for private cultural resource management firms. She has experience conducting fieldwork in the northeast, southwest, and underwater. She is currently on the CRM and Historic Preservation track, with a focus in environmental history under Dr. Childers.