Payton Becker is a Graduate Student in the Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design at the University of Rhode Island. She earned her BA in Classical Societies at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania. Her work in the costume shop inspired her Honors Thesis “Alexander the Great’s Cultural Cross-Dressing,” which combined Classics, dress history, and experimental reconstruction. She is pursuing her Master's degree in this combination of history and dress at the University of Rhode Island, as well as exploring the world of textile science and conservation.