Charlotte McDonald is a first year graduate student specializing in Ancient History advised by Dr. Kristina Sessa. She received a B.S. with a double major in Geography and History from Salem State University in 2023. She is interested in researching topics related to the interpretation of death, the process of grief, and their relationship to religion in the "Byzantine" or Eastern Roman Empire. More specifically, she is interested in exploring the influence of religion on the recovery of societies after widespread catastrophic events.