{"id":28750,"date":"2020-06-01T05:30:30","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T10:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=28750"},"modified":"2020-05-31T00:21:11","modified_gmt":"2020-05-31T05:21:11","slug":"apsu-alumni-lynn-von-hagen-celebrates-her-role-in-a-new-generation-of-women-undertaking-remote-fieldwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2020\/06\/01\/apsu-alumni-lynn-von-hagen-celebrates-her-role-in-a-new-generation-of-women-undertaking-remote-fieldwork\/","title":{"rendered":"APSU alumni Lynn Von Hagen celebrates her role in \u2018a new generation of women\u2019 undertaking remote fieldwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Austin Peay State University (APSU) graduate Lynn Von Hagen is living a lifelong dream working with elephants in the Kenyan bush while pursuing a doctoral degree at Auburn University.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University alumni Lynn Von Hagen in Kenya. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

And in a recently posted blog for Integrative and Comparative Biology\u2019s website, she shares her realization that she\u2019s \u201cpart of a new generation of women who are undertaking remote fieldwork to advance our scientific knowledge and aspiring to show that badassery isn\u2019t just for men.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to share with you why I think it\u2019s never too late for women to keep surprising people,\u201d Von Hagen writes in the blog. <\/p>\n

She explores her fear of returning to school as a nontraditional student after a 20-year gap and her insecurities about entering a male-dominated field. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow many generations of women have been lost to the STEM fields because of their insecurities or acceptance of what society expected?\u201d she writes. <\/p>\n

To read Von Hagen\u2019s blog entry, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Expectations are still male-dominated\u2019 <\/h3>\n
\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University alumni Lynn Von Hagen in Kenya. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

Von Hagen is doing her Ph.D. work as a Presidential Research Fellow at Auburn studying human-elephant coexistence and elephant movement and behavior in the Kasigau Wildlife Corridor in Kenya.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also the field team co-leader of Elephants and Sustainable Agriculture in Kenya.<\/p>\n

As part of her research, she has spent up to eight months alone in the remote bush. Many people asked her if her husband was with her, Von Hagen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the conversation on female equality and empowerment has definitely taken a positive turn, the expectations for STEM practitioners is still male-dominated,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

Von Hagen came back to school at Austin Peay State University as a nontraditional student to pursue a lifelong goal of being a conservation biologist and graduated in 2015 with a degree in zoology. <\/p>\n

\u201cAPSU is special to me because I felt like the daunting task of being a returning student was assuaged by the kindness of both the teachers and my fellow students,\u201d she said in an interview while in Africa last year. \u201cI received a lot of support during my time at APSU and made lifelong friends and colleagues. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[470center]<\/p>\n

To learn more<\/h3>\n