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Spencer paves way for APSU students with South African journey

By: Colby Wilson September 6, 2024

Jordan Spencer, a senior pre-veterinary student at APSU, handles a wild cheetah during a study abroad program in South Africa. The animal is for educational and conservation purposes and is not a pet.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Not everyone gets these opportunities.

Over and over, that’s what Austin Peay State University (APSU) pre-veterinary student Jordan Spencer kept referencing when talking about her life-changing summer experience in South Africa. These trips, internships, and programs? They are for the lucky and should never be taken for granted.

“For me, this is my second time around with school, and I need to get my experience and get in my field so I can make a career and a living,” said Spencer, who is currently in her senior year. ���t’s not the most glamorous work in the world when you’re raking a tiger’s habitat in South Africa, but also, you’re raking a tiger’s habitat in South Africa. Nobody else gets to say that. I kept telling the other people in the program with me, ‘None of your classmates get to experience this.’”

Spencer's adventure, split between two academic credit programs, provided hands-on experience in wildlife conservation and solidified her passion for protecting endangered species. Her journey began at the Cango Wildlife Ranch, known for its cheetah breeding facility, and concluded near the famous Kruger National Park at the Selati Game Reserve.

According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, low genetic diversity contributes to the cheetah’s risk of extinction in the wild. The pictured animal is used to promote education and conservation and is not a pet.

At Cango, Spencer immersed herself in cheetah conservation. The program opened her eyes to the challenges facing these big cats.

��� learned how to dart—I got to do that lab twice, which was amazing,” she said. “We did necropsies on a cheetah and a postmortem on a giraffe; we got to do a lot of exciting things for pre-veterinary medicine. The odds are just so stacked against cheetahs; there are so many breeding issues, and if we couldn’t breed them in our facility, we’d send them to another one, and moving animals around to find proper breeding partners is a huge concern.”

At the breeding facility, Spencer’s days were filled with lab work and lectures. She learned a lot and left an impression on the program staff—in December, she’ll return for another seven weeks exclusively at the cheetah breeding facility.

Her work at the Selati Game Reserve differed greatly in that she was outside the lab and in the bush, working multiple game drives each day. Lectures and labs were also part of daily life at Selati, but what stayed with Spencer was the hands-on work with animals in a more natural habitat.

“Never in my life did I think I would get to handle a wild cheetah,” she said.

Life at Kruger was different. Living in the bush among the wildlife meant adjusting to wild animals in camp, including a daily drop-in from a warthog family and some nocturnal visitors who made themselves right at home in the dead of night.

“We had hyenas in camp at night,” Spencer said. “One night we had lions roaring in the middle of camp, which was so exciting but also nerve-wracking because we were just in canvas tents.”

APSU student Jordan Spencer, fifth from right, with other students who traveled for the National Science Foundation’s IRES program during the Summer 2023 semester.

Spencer also participated in the IRES program last summer, taking on lab work in Poland that was valuable in both its scope and opportunities for skill development. It was outside her comfort zone as someone wanting to work outside with animals, but it provided a valuable perspective in her travels this summer and gave her the confidence to find something more aligned with her pre-veterinary studies.

“Last year, I was so overstimulated and exhausted by the time we got to Poland,” she said. ���t took me a few days to adjust. This time around, I was able to adjust to things more quickly. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I’d been wanting to do for years; I wanted to be sure I got the most out of it. When there was a question, my hand was in the air; when someone asked for a volunteer, my hand was in the air. I had big fears about missing out on anything on this trip.”

As an older student and military spouse who spent six years in the National Guard, Spencer is a natural leader with knowledge to share with other students. She could show first-time study-away students the ropes and was able to apply much of what she learned at Cango to her work at Kruger.

Spencer also wants to show other students what they can accomplish at Austin Peay. Working with Loop Abroad on veterinary program placement made her aware of the opportunities available for those who seek them.

��� want to take my experience and show them that this is what students get to do and they need to jump on it,” she said. “One day, we looked at the blood of a specific antelope and I learned more about cells that day than I ever had because it was so detailed in the field.”

These hands-on experiences enriched Spencer's education and solidified her career aspirations in wildlife conservation.

“For someone like me, this was so valuable because I don’t want to work in a small animal practice,” she said. ��� want to work in wildlife rehabilitation and in zoos and in breeding programs to help bring some of these species back from the brink of extinction.”

About the Austin Peay College of STEM

The College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) provides studies for students in the areas of agriculture, astronomy, aviation sciences, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental sciences, engineering physics, engineering technology, information technology, mathematics, medical laboratory sciences, radiologic sciences and physics. Our outstanding, discipline-based programs are student-centered and designed to prepare students for responsible positions at all levels of research, industry, education, medicine and government positions.