Q&A: Sarah Costello
Sarah Costello, assistant professor of art history, is one of the women featured as part of The Signal’s special #HawkHerStory issue, celebrating Women’s History Month. This special edition focuses on the stories and perspectives of the various women within the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) community.
Read The Signal’s Q&A with Costello below and see the other Q&A’s conducted with students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni here.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, on both a personal and professional/educational level?
A: I teach Art History in the Humanities program. I’m an archaeologist, which means I often go away to do fieldwork/research for an extended period of time. I’m also a wife and mom to two teenage boys, so finding a way to balance all these roles has been challenging.
Q: What are some activities you enjoy doing?
A: I love to get out into nature with my family. We love to go hiking. Big Bend is one of our favorite places. I also like to run; I do various distance races during the year to keep me motivated.
Q: Are there any female role model today that you wish you had growing up?
A: I had great female role models. My mom successfully balanced work and family, and one of my grandmas worked for years as an accountant. I had very accomplished female professors during graduate school.
I guess one thing I wish is that I had a female professor with children who could have given me some perspective on that. Archaeologists face particular challenges in that arena because of the time demands of fieldwork, which is probably why there were so few role models. Most of the successful female archaeologists I knew had elected not to have children, perhaps because of the demanding fieldwork and time away.
Q: What are some problems you anticipate/have encountered as a woman in your field?
A: On the same subject, it was balancing motherhood and fieldwork. I took a hiatus from fieldwork when I had young children. It’s physically very demanding to do archaeology in the middle east in the summer—it’s extremely hot, for one thing, with very long work days. To do it pregnant or nursing would be extremely challenging, and some of the places I went weren’t particularly safe for young children. I finally brought one son along when he was about five. It was very expensive to pay for his plane ticket and accommodations, as well as those of the babysitter I had to bring. It wasn’t a great solution.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
A: My mother had a few good ones. One was “Don’t take it personally, it probably has nothing to do with you.” Applicable to many situations. Women tend to be concerned about mediating relationships and the emotional status of their circle, which is great, but it can be draining. Sometimes you have to realize it has nothing to do with you, and move on.
Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know?
A: We need to recognize, as a society, that there are many additional demands placed on women and offer as much help and support as possible. This means affordable childcare, paid maternity leave, and research support that includes the needs of one’s dependent family. Without those things, we are playing against a stacked deck.
