Dr. Lauren Gillespie
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I’m bi and I’m a behavioral endocrinologist and ecologist. //
I’m a first-generation college graduate and former Division I field hockey player from rural Maine. I was inspired to pursue science by my high-school biology teacher. I study sexual selection in eastern bluebirds focused on how habitat/climate influence testosterone, corticosterone, behavior, and plumage ornaments. I currently teach general biology at a community college in rural Nebraska. I am co-PI on a National Science Foundation S-STEM grant and building a program for students pursuing STEM fields by combining student-research, professional development, and intensive mentoring. I am fortunate to have a lifelong academic mentor in the LGBTQIA community. Her example has been incredibly influential, as has open and honest dialogue with my students, both of which solidified for me how important representation of this nature truly is, and inspired me to openly express my identity. My goal is to continue to maintain an open and inclusive learning community and dispel stereotypes with more visibility, and I hope to motivate my students to do the same both personally and professionally.