Peace Corps inspires ASU grad to link generations with learning
Fulbright Scholar Lindsey Beagley heads to South Korea to advance her mission
By Michelle Stermole, ASU News
May 12, 2026
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable
When Gilbert native Lindsey Beagley joined the Peace Corps in 2006 and moved to Honduras, she had no idea how that journey would impact her passion and career.
It was in Central America that Beagley discovered how intergenerational households can increase resilience. When she returned from her service, she realized that many communities in the United States were designed to be age segregated.
In 2018 Beagley founded Homeshare Arizona, an intergenerational housing model that paired older homeowners with college students seeking affordable housing.
That work led Beagley to ASU Enterprise Partners in 2019, where she leads a team dedicated to developing and delivering lifelong learning and intergenerational engagement opportunities for Mirabella at ASU residents and Arizona State University students.
Beagley will earn her Doctor of Education in higher education leadership and innovation from the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation in May, marking her fourth degree from ASU. She previously earned bachelor's degrees in psychology and Spanish, and a master's degree in public administration.
“At ASU, you can really do anything you want if you have the initiative to do it. And I can't say that about many places of employment or learning,” Beagley said.
Beagley was recently named a Fulbright Scholar and will spend six months in South Korea to support project development for seven university-based retirement communities like Mirabella. She hopes to gain insights into how technology and AI can support the older adult population in the United States, which is projected to outnumber young adults by 2034.
Through Beagley’s leadership, Mirabella has earned national recognition, including designation as the nation’s first certified university-based retirement community, the ASU President’s Award for Principled Innovation and intergenerational innovation awards from Generations United and LeadingAge Arizona. McKnight Senior Living also recognized Beagley with a Women of Distinction Rising Star award, and she was instrumental in ASU becoming home to the Age-Friendly University Global Network.
Read more about Beagley’s experience at ASU below.
Note: Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Question: What was your “aha” moment, when you realized you wanted to study higher education leadership and innovation?
Answer: My work is at the intersection of aging and higher education. We are living 30 years longer on average than we did a century ago. That means we need to learn and earn longer.
I think higher ed as a sector is lagging a little bit in terms of thinking about how our longer lifespans will change education. I wanted to be a part of reimagining the role of higher education in the second half of life.
Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective?
A: I discovered through my research that intergenerational contact zones, like what Mirabella is, creates infrastructure that organically connects younger and older people. The campus environment is critical in creating those initial connections, but then it’s not as important as that relationship deepens. Many residents and students stay friends even when the student has graduated or gone off. College campuses are critical in creating the initial connection, but then those relationships can be sustained even if the student leaves.
Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU, and what was that lesson?
A: Nicole Bowers. She was my action research qualitative methods professor. She made me realize that it was possible to be an advocate and a researcher and a practitioner. She made me realize how valuable it was that I understand the nuances of the university ecosystem and how that makes my research richer.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?
A: Your learning becomes deeper and more meaningful if you can attach it to what you are working on or what you care about. That’s why the EdD program is valuable. It’s designed for practitioners who want to make research-informed change in their professional setting. When your learning is connected to your professional work, each strengthens the other in powerful and practical ways.
Q: What’s one change you’d love to see in the world — and how would you use your degree to help make it happen?
A: I’d like to see universities all over the world integrate older, post-career learners into their classrooms and campus spaces. The 21st-century skill is the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn throughout our entire lives. Long gone are the days when you learn just for the test and forget. A four-year degree is not enough to last what is now a 60-year career. Older adults bring lived experience to learning, and they demonstrate what deep curiosity and intrinsic motivation for learning across the life course actually looks like.
This story originally appeared on ASU News.