Sean Doyle – Hamilton Hurricanes Alum

Archaeology Master’s Student

 

Hamilton Hurricanes: Since finishing your career with the Hurricanes, what have you been up to?

Sean Doyle: I got into archaeology. My last year as a Hurricane was my first year at McMaster University, studying history. I got interested in the Greeks and Romans, and joined an excavation the next summer in Italy at an Archaic Roman site called Gabii. It totally changed my life, and I decided to move into Classics for my second year. After a couple years of that, and a six-week field school  term excavating Princess Point and historic cultural material at the Nursery Site in the Royal Botanical Gardens, I decided prehistory was more my thing, and shifted into the Anthropology program, minoring in Archaeology. Since then I’ve moved into my Master’s, done three summers of fieldwork at a Palaeolithic chert quarry on the Greek island of Naxos, and five summers of fieldwork at the Neolithic tell site of Çatalhöyük in central Turkey. I’m leaving for there [Tuesday, April 25] for a few months, so by the time anyone reads this that’s where I’ll be!

 

HH: What does it mean to you to be a Hamilton Hurricane?

SD: For me, becoming a Hamilton Hurricane helped me feel like I truly belonged in this city. I was born here, but being an army brat I moved around a lot, starting when I just a few months old. I tried out for the Hurricanes the first year I finally moved back to Hamilton, when I was 21, and right away I felt like I belonged here. Being a Hurricane runs in the family. It meant a lot to me, and I think to my family, that I had the opportunity to be in Hamilton and play for my last two years of eligibility. For me, the Hurricanes represent the city of Hamilton, and Hamilton is my home. I am very grateful to have been a small part of one of the cornerstones of this community, while I still had the chance. 

 

HH: What is one thing you took away from the game of football? How did it help you develop as a person?

SD: Football is the ultimate education in teamwork. A lot of other sports can have championship teams with one or two star players, but in football everyone needs to work together as a well-oiled machine. It teaches us that everyone has a different body size, temperament, and capabilities, but that doesn’t make them any better or lesser than anyone else on the team. Every position is important and fulfils a certain role, and that’s what it’s like in the real world too. We all play our part. Beyond that, football has helped me to develop a sense of confidence and dedication that helped me to become who I am today. 

 

HH: What is one piece of advice you have received in your life that you live by?

SD: My grade 9 and 10 football coach at Vincent Massey High School in Brandon, Manitoba. Kevin Grindey. He taught me, and every single player that has played for him, something valuable that I still think about all the time. He taught us that it is important to instill character into someone above all else, especially winning, and a win only counts if you can feel good about the way you got there. I remember a time he sat the star player on our team for the first half of a playoff game for saying something rude to another coach. That's his character, and he has passed it down to all of his players. His lessons defined my football career, but more than that, it applies to every other part of life too and I think that’s why it’s stuck with me so much. 

 

HH: What is your 5-year plan?

SD: First, finish my Master’s and start working in the commercial sector of archaeology so I can pay off some student debt. I have learned to be pretty flexible in this line of work, so I wouldn’t say I have a 5-year plan exactly, but eventually I would like to find the right program and do my Ph.D. At the very least, I can say that in 5 years, I would like to have at least started that somewhere, and be happy about the decision. 

 

HH: What has been the biggest challenge you have faced?

SD: One of the biggest challenges has been money, if I’m being honest. To get that important out-of-classroom experience I have had to be away most summers, paying for transportation and other expenses, and volunteering my time for excavation/lab experience. This also means I haven’t been able to use that time working at a normal job over the summers to pay for my education. That’s where student loans come in. I don’t regret them though, not for a second, because those experiences were worth 100 times that, and if I didn’t have them I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m not in this field for the money. I do it because I love it. 

 

HH: What has been your proudest moment?

SD: For the football side of things it was winning the National Capital Bowl at the OFSAA Championships during my ‘victory lap’ year at St. Peter Catholic High School in Orleans. It was one of the main reasons why I returned for a semester after Grade 12, because we lost twice previously in the regional round after becoming city champions, so it was a pretty great feeling. For my academics, it was getting my first and only A+ of my university career on a second-year Indo-European Myth class. That was awesome. 

 

HH: Who has had the biggest impact on your life?

SD: My grandfather, Don Dunn. He taught me that it is possible to be compassionate, gentle, strong, successful, and respected all at the same time, without ever losing sight of who you are. I will be forever grateful to him for everything he taught me, whether it was intentional or not. He was the most amazing man I have ever known. 

 

HH: Where is the coolest place you have visited?

SD: Cappadocia in central Turkey. It’s this mountainous area that is just beautiful, and is full of obsidian sources that people have used to make stone tools for over 10,000 years. I took a hot air balloon ride over it once just as the sun was rising, and I will never forget it. 

 

HH: Favourite hobby?

SD: Flintknapping. It’s the process of turning a piece of stone into a tool, like arrowheads and spear points, and all sorts of other things. I’ve become hooked on it the last few years, and it’s helped me with my work as an archaeologist too, so that’s a bonus.

 

HH: Twitter or Facebook?

SD: Facebook

 

HH: Cake or pie? 

SD: Cake!

HH: Relaxing beach vacation or adventure?

SD: Adventure

 

HH: XBox or Playstation?

SD: Playstation

 

HH: Name one movie or show that you can quote line-for-line.

SD: Mean Girls (blame my three little sisters for that one)

 

HH: Who was your celebrity crush growing up?

SD: Cameron Diaz after The Mask. Hands down.