Alum Finds Purpose in Conversation Work
A plant genetics research project at Seton Hill gave Hannah Hartman ’19 a new direction to her passion for biology.
Having entered Seton Hill with thoughts of working in the medical field, Hartman realized she was more drawn to working with nature. The plant genetics research she conducted with Associate Professor of Biology Jessica Brzyski, Ph.D., showed her a different avenue to pursue her interests. Hartman also found other ways to get involved with biology at Seton Hill, serving as president of the Biology Club and creating an interactive map identifying the location and species of the trees on the Seton Hill campus for her honors capstone project.
Her journey has led her full circle back to Central Pennsylvania, where she grew up, volunteering with The Nature Conservancy and working as District Manager for the Lebanon County Conservation District.
After graduation, Hannah found some seasonal positions around the country, leading youth crews with the Montana Conservation Corps to work on conservation and trail projects, and interning in invasive plant management at Congaree National Park in South Carolina and with the Native Plant Trust in Massachusetts to monitor rare plant populations across New England.
Determining that graduate school would be key to year-round employment in the field, Hartman enrolled at Kent State University in a master of science program in ecology and evolutionary biology. Again seeking that connection to nature and the outdoors, she began volunteering as a trail monitor at a site co-owned by Kent State and The Nature Conservancy and later began to catalog a backlog of photos in the Conservancy's archives.
When she moved back to Central Pennsylvania, Hannah continued to volunteer with the organization as a trail monitor and nature docent at the Hamer Woodlands at Cove Mountain site, an important location for migratory birds recognized by the Pennsylvania Audubon Society. Her efforts to create programming and make the site inviting and accessible to the public earned her recognition as The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania's 2025 Volunteer of the Year.
“You don’t have to be a science major to be involved in conservation,” Hartman says. “Anyone can get involved! Look for your local community groups, you never know where it will take you and you can always learn something new.”
Having entered Seton Hill with thoughts of working in the medical field, Hartman realized she was more drawn to working with nature. The plant genetics research she conducted with Associate Professor of Biology Jessica Brzyski, Ph.D., showed her a different avenue to pursue her interests. Hartman also found other ways to get involved with biology at Seton Hill, serving as president of the Biology Club and creating an interactive map identifying the location and species of the trees on the Seton Hill campus for her honors capstone project.
Her journey has led her full circle back to Central Pennsylvania, where she grew up, volunteering with The Nature Conservancy and working as District Manager for the Lebanon County Conservation District.
After graduation, Hannah found some seasonal positions around the country, leading youth crews with the Montana Conservation Corps to work on conservation and trail projects, and interning in invasive plant management at Congaree National Park in South Carolina and with the Native Plant Trust in Massachusetts to monitor rare plant populations across New England.
Determining that graduate school would be key to year-round employment in the field, Hartman enrolled at Kent State University in a master of science program in ecology and evolutionary biology. Again seeking that connection to nature and the outdoors, she began volunteering as a trail monitor at a site co-owned by Kent State and The Nature Conservancy and later began to catalog a backlog of photos in the Conservancy's archives.
When she moved back to Central Pennsylvania, Hannah continued to volunteer with the organization as a trail monitor and nature docent at the Hamer Woodlands at Cove Mountain site, an important location for migratory birds recognized by the Pennsylvania Audubon Society. Her efforts to create programming and make the site inviting and accessible to the public earned her recognition as The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania's 2025 Volunteer of the Year.
“You don’t have to be a science major to be involved in conservation,” Hartman says. “Anyone can get involved! Look for your local community groups, you never know where it will take you and you can always learn something new.”