The making of a field ecologist

He almost clicked “submit” for his medical school application. But Charles Lehnen realized at that moment how deeply the love of ecology had been instilled in him at the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences (CBS).

“With this realization, I made a major shift,” says Lehnen, who is now a doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Southern California. “I left behind my lab work, sold most of what I owned, and moved to Ecuador with my partner to fully immerse myself in the career path I was truly passionate about.

“I have not looked back since, and I continue to be inspired by the interwoven connections of the natural world.”

Although he had followed a premed track as a CBS undergrad, it was the college’s Nature of Life program for incoming freshmen that made the single biggest impression. At the University’s Itasca Field Station, he and his peers had what he calls the “incredible experience” of learning the basics of field and lab biology in an idyllic setting.

He also credits the CBS Dean’s Scholars Program, which added another layer to his strong support network of fellow biology majors, “allowing me to translate the science I was learning into leadership opportunities.”

Travel and Tortoises

At the University of Minnesota, he also learned a thing or two that stood him in good stead later, but in unexpected ways.

“I discovered rock climbing while working at UMN after graduation, and for me, it provides another way to connect with nature while staying active,” Lehnen says. “Unexpectedly, it has also opened up career opportunities. I relied on my climbing and anchoring skills while studying bat habitat use in the abandoned mines of New Mexico with a team of climber/biologists.”

As a child, Lehnen had longed to meet Lonesome George, a male Pinta Island tortoise and the last known individual of his subspecies in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. Now, he’s doing the next best thing in his doctoral work, which takes him to the famous archipelago.

“I study the cascading ecological effects of introducing giant tortoises to Santa Fe Island as a keystone species, 200 years after the native species went extinct,” Lehnen says. “This research is a key step in the de-extinction artificial breeding program for Galápagos tortoises and will inform management decisions as previously extinct species are reintroduced to their native islands.”

Looking back at his college experiences, he would advise college students to say “yes” to opportunities as much as possible.

“In college, you have the freedom to explore rapidly,” he explains. “Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find the perfect fit right away. Finding what you don’t like is just as valuable as discovering what you do.”