It’s been 15 years since Augusta Fehn ’04, MBA ’06 has stepped foot on the LMU campus. A lot has happened since she was a young ROTC cadet preparing to enter active duty. In a special Veterans Day talk for the LMU community, Augusta spoke candidly about her career, her relationship with imposter syndrome and the leadership principles that have guided her during times of adversity. She shared personal stories from her time in the military as a young, inexperienced woman leading a team of mostly men and how she overcame her own insecurities to become a successful leader. Catch the replay here.
After earning her MBA from LMU, Augusta immediately commissioned into the United States Air Force. While on active duty, she served as a contracting officer in Portugal, Botswana, Iraq and Nevada, eventually attaining the rank of captain.
Today, Augusta serves as contracts director for the Defense Contract Management Agency at Lockheed Martin in Denver where she’s responsible for leading and managing 24 civilian and military leaders, supervisors and technical experts to perform acquisition life cycle contract management for Department of Defense and NASA space system programs.
Despite her impressive resume and accolades, Augusta remains down to earth, personable and authentic. She believes the strong set of values that were instilled in her at an early age greatly influenced her life and helped her get to where she is today.
“My dad used to sit me on his lap and say ‘you’re a woman, you’re going to do amazing things and conquer the world.’ At the time I had no idea what he was talking about but as an adult I am so thankful he said those things because it was true.”
Augusta’s father, Tom Fehn ’65, a retired securities lawyer, could not be prouder of his daughter and all she has accomplished. An LMU alum himself, Tom makes it a priority to stay active and engaged in his alma mater. He serves on the Dean’s Executive Council for the College of Business Administration and is an alumni mentor for the Executive MBA program.
“At this point in my life, I’ve entered the ‘let’s give back’ phase,” said Tom. “I come to the task with a lot of experience and talent and LMU is a good place to put my time and energy.”
A few years ago, Tom started the Fehn Family Endowed Scholarship to support business students with financial need. The scholarship is specifically targeted to management majors with the caveat that they must have a job while in school. Tom was forced to work multiple jobs during college and knows how challenging that can be.
Tom attended Cal State Long Beach before transferring into LMU as a finance major. He says he was an “academic bum” until a Jesuit by the name of John Clark turned things around for him.
“John called me into his office one day and asked me to work for him. I remember him saying he would make me a superstar at LMU. And he did.”
Tom credits his achievements at LMU, such as earning a 3.9 GPA in 36 units and his involvement in various extracurricular activities, for helping him get into USC Law School.
“I always knew I wanted to go to law school and LMU helped me realize that I shouldn’t be so relaxed and do something with my potential.”
For Augusta, it was LMU’s Jesuit principles and core values that really resonated. To this day, she keeps the CBA mission close to her heart.
During her talk at LMU, Augusta outlined her empowerment model which aligns with CBA’s mission and core values. She followed this model after she developed PTSD from her time in Iraq. The model has four parts: acceptance (lifelong learning), ownership (moral courage), action (creative confidence) and impact (force for good). She encouraged students to use this model as they embark on their careers and when faced with a tough decision.
“If you have a tight set of core values, it’s going to make it a lot easier to make the right decision no matter how uncomfortable the situation,” said Augusta. “Own your mistakes, lead with integrity and stay focused on how your actions can create impact.”
