Meet Lael Anderson, a 2024 graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences. Anderson graduated summa cum laude and earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Computer Science, all while being an active member of several student organizations.
Anderson was an active member of the Health Sciences Career Club, Tri-Beta Biology Honors Society, and the Honors Program. The Honors Program at Athens State made a significant impression on Anderson and ultimately contributed to her long-term career readiness and research capabilities. Additionally, the biology department’s commitment to making student research accessible was instrumental in Anderson’s development. As a biology student, Anderson was able to engage in research that was both intellectually stimulating and personally fulfilling.
“Aside from giving me the opportunity to do a research thesis, I also got to make great friends who were dedicated students working on interesting research,” Anderson said. “Under Dr. Pittman’s guidance, I grew into a more confident and capable student and researcher.”
One of the highlights of Anderson’s time at Athens State was her research on frog habitats. Her study aimed to evaluate the success of frog behavioral patterns in environments of varying stability, driven by her observations of seasonal changes in local wetlands and climate change predictions.
Lael summarized the findings, saying, “In the fieldwork, we found an extremely wide range of latency times, reflecting high variation in boldness between individuals, even within single sets of moistures, substrates, and species. Evaluation of the model found that overall, bolder individuals that were quicker to move showed higher rates of survival. Consequently, as environmental stability dropped, overall survival dropped significantly.”
Anderson shared that the results of her research highlight the critical need for strong, decisive conservation actions to protect amphibians in the face of climate change. With extensive research experience and a bachelor’s degree in hand, Anderson plans to continue her education at a university in North Alabama. She will be working to attain her master’s in biology while functioning as a graduate teaching assistant in a lab that focuses on the evolution, speciation, and biogeography of subterranean organisms.
Anderson finished strong at Athens State and has a bright road ahead. Following her master’s degree, she hopes to remain in academia to continue her research and contributions to our understanding of the natural world.
About the Biology Program
The Biology – Ecology & Organismal degree option is designed particularly for students interested in continuing in fields associated with Ecology and Organismal Biology, including those interested in working as an environmental or field biologist, in field research, or applying to graduate school in ecology, environmental science, wildlife biology, or forestry.
The biology degree program at Athens State University provides a supportive and inclusive environment for incoming students who wish to expand their understanding of biology’s fundamental concepts, the process of science, and improve their discipline-specific professional skills. Learn more HERE.