Lauren Pegher isn't just attending Purdue for an aerospace engineering degree. She's also here to run, and she doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon.

Pegher's aerospace career started before she even got to Purdue. "I'm actually from Virginia," she says. "In high school, I was able to volunteer at NASA Langley and do some hands-on wind tunnel testing work." Around this time, family friends were encouraging her to apply to Purdue, which brought her to visit campus.

Since then, Pegher has completed two academic years (and as many seasons on the track & cross-country team), but she's just getting started. This past spring, she ranked in the top 5 of two indoor events, holding 5th in the 5K and 3rd in the 3K. But once again, Pegher has her sights set on the future. "The biggest goal is to stay uninjured, but," she says, "I would love to get the school record in the outdoor 5K."

One of Pegher's teammates, Payne Turney, currently holds that record. She just accomplished the feat in March 2025. "I look up to her so much," Pegher says. "It was great to see her do that."

The rest of her sophomore year was nothing short of impressive. In the Fall 2025 semester, she competed in five outdoor meets with cross-country, where she opened the season with a time of 22:18.6 in the 6K. By the end of the season, she pushed to cut this time by a whole 30 seconds, finishing 93rd overall in the 6K with a time of 21:48.9 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

Of course, Purdue is so much more than running to Pegher. She received Academic All-Big Ten Honors in the Fall 2025 semester, an award that requires a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

Balancing tough labs and exams with travel for track and cross-country, Pegher never has a dull moment. "The combination of being on the track team and doing aerospace definitely keeps me busy, but I feel like Purdue does a really good job supporting student athletes. I miss a decent number of exams, but the professors are always super helpful with making things up, and we have a really good support system academically with the athletic department."

She's also not alone in the marathon to her degree. "I have 10 teammates and we're all in challenging majors," Pegher says. "A large majority of us are in engineering, so we're all very like-minded. It's cool to have engineering friendships in track."

More of Pegher's aspirations and goals extend beyond track. She's already held two internships at NASA's Langley Research Center, just a half hour drive from her home in Yorktown, VA. From here, the sky's the limit for the runner, and she's laid out her options for post-graduation. "I've only ever experienced NASA... I'd love to explore the private sector, working (for) a company that is maybe a startup. I think that would be a really cool experience. Going from there is determing which one I like more."

Before that, though, Pegher still has some time left at Purdue. Whether it's breaking new records on the track or getting hands-on in the upper-level AAE labs, she's won't be wasting a single second.

Keep up with Lauren Pegher on Instagram and on LinkedIn.