Student of the Month: Victoria Herr #psuaged19 #teachag

Every month we like to highlight students that have gone above and beyond in the Agriculture Education department! For the month of January, that student is our very own Victoria Herr (@Victoria_Herr).

Many freshman take things easy their first semester, but Victoria jumped right in! With just a semester under her belt, there is no denying she has a passion for Agricultural Education. Victoria credits her involvement with FFA for many of her successes. A graduate of Penn Manor High School, she states: "After joining FFA my freshman year of high school, it didn't take me long to realize how much I loved it and ag ed!" Victoria in not only passionate about her future career as an agriculture educator but she is very interested in International Agriculture. Her minor is in International Agriculture and traveled to Belize during Thanksgiving break. Victoria hopes to not only teach some day, but partner with an organization such as the Peace Corps, Agricorps, or Fulbright. "Not only do I love traveling, but I really have a desire to learn from the people who live such different lives than me, and I know that these experiences will someday make me a better teacher as well!" We couldn't agree more Victoria!

Her passion does not stop there, it has allowed her to become involved in various ways in the Penn State Teach Ag! Program. She is involved in Teach Ag! Society where she serves as the secretary and in Collegiate FFA. Victoria is also a student worker for the Center for Professional Personnel Development as the Global Teach Ag! Intern. This role has kept Victoria busy assisting local high schools globalize their agriculture curriculum and playing an important role in planning the Global Learning in Agriculture Conference!

Want to know some fun facts about Victoria? Check them out below!

Victoria and her classmates in Belize over Thanksgiving Break
learning about traditional foods. 

Hometown: Lancaster, PA

Favorite PSU Class: AEE 100

Favorite place to eat in State College: The Tavern 

Favorite Penn State Athletic Team: Football

Favorite Hangout on Campus: North Hall, it's close to the Creamery and Arboretum!

If you would like to read more about Victoria, check out the other blogs we have written about her scholarship, work experience and connect with her on twitter @Victoria_Herr

"How do I choose?": A Practical Guide to Selecting Classes for AEE Majors. Part 1 of 3.

There are hundreds of classes in the College of Agriculture Sciences, not to mention all of the ones outside of the College of Ag, how do we choose!?  Waiting by your computer starting at 11:50pm, before you rapidly log into elion at 11:59pm to choose all the classes you’ve been planning to take.  Sometimes it is stressful. Thanks to some graduates and upper class men, we have a few suggestions for you!  Check out what some of our students say! Class of 2018 and 2019, this one is for you! Stay tuned for more throughout the semester! Thank you to Mason, Deanna and Sarabeth for sharing this week!

Name: Mason Tate, 2016 Student Teacher

What was your favorite Class in the College of Agriculture?

Thanks for sharing Mason, good
luck student teaching!

Ageco201 

Description: How crop production problems and finding solutions.

Why should an AEE Major take this course?

"Michael Saunders is an awesome guy!  I absolutely loved coming to his class.  His wisdom and knowledge is amazing.  He made learning fun.  Little to no homework, stellar stories, great content."

What was your favorite Class Outside the College of Agriculture?

Comm110

Description: Great discussions about politics, current events, and celebrities.  

Why should an AEE Major take this course?

"I took this course at Penn State Altoona.  The class was phenomenal. We met in the evening like twice a week.  The instructor was hilarious.  Let us speak our opinions in a safe environment.  We watched movies a lot and there was no final."  

Do you have other suggestions,  advice or activities students must do while at PSU?

"Take AGR028 and go on a trip with a club or organization that interests you.  I went on a trip to Minnesota with the agronomy club it was a blast!"

Want to ask more questions? Tweet Mason: @mttate18

Name: Deanna Miller, 2015 graduate

Thanks for the perspective Deanna!

What was your favorite class in the College of Agriculture?

ANSC 421 

Description: Poultry Evaluation and Selection, getting back to what got me into Ag to begin with.

Why should an AEE Major take this class?

“It is an excellent resource if you plan to coach a poultry judging team one day.” (This is coming from a teacher in the field folks!)

What was your favorite class outside the College of Agriculture?

Ed Psych 100 

Description: This looks at why we teach the way we do and how students learn.

Why should an AEE Major take this class?

"It is a great introduction to teaching and it gets you into a classroom with students."

Do you have other suggestions,  advice or activities students must do while at PSU?

“Take a meteorology class.”

Want to ask more questions? Tweet Deanna: @deannapsu15

Thanks for sharing Sarabeth, enjoy Athens!

Name:  Sarabeth Royer, 2016 Student Teacher

What was your favorite class in the College of Agriculture?

Soils 102  

Description:This lab, which meets once a week, complements the required Soils 101 lecture. It is very interesting and very relevant.

Why should an AEE Major take this class?

This made the soils lecture more interesting and relevant. I honestly would not have enjoyed the soils lectures as much if I didn't have the hands on application in the lab.

What was your favorite class outside the College of Agriculture?

Travel!

Description: 

"Any class where you can travel! All of mine were in the CAS, but traveling is important and valuable in so many ways."

Do you have other suggestions,  advice or activities students must do while at PSU?

"Take any type of Livestock Judging Course. I took Poultry and Dairy Judging and learned SO MUCH from both these courses! Any of the judging courses are an excellent and hands on application for AEE majors."

Want to ask more questions? Tweet Sarabeth: @sb_royer

Share your Penn State favorite classes here: http://goo.gl/forms/pnQtYKDefl. 

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog.  

Kayla Hack

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @hackkayla

2017 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Victoria Herr: A Showman, Volunteer and Scholar #studentsuccess

Victoria credits much of her success to her
time in FFA.  Pictured with FFA Advisor
Neil Fellenbaum. 

For a Pennsylvania Aggie, PA Farm Show is an annual tradition, the largest of it’s kind in the US. Home to 10,000 competitive exhibits, 300 commercial exhibits and almost 6,000 animals and the famous milk shakes and other food court delicacies, Farm Show is the place to be. It’s where many first year FFA members receive the coveted blue corduroy jacket or the prestigious Keystone State FFA Degree at the Mid Winter Convention. It is also where a few outstanding students from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences receive honored Farm Show Scholarships. One of those was Victoria Herr. Victoria was a recipient of the Farm Show Foundation Scholarship.


Victoria is no stranger to farm show, she said “I have been attending the Farm Show literally since before I can remember. I have never missed a year in my life!!"   She volunteered at Farm Show, showed a hog as a high school student and received her Keystone Degree, all through Farm Show. This year her success continued with the scholarship. The Pennsylvania Farm Show Foundation Scholarship is a highly competitive and honorable award. For Victoria, the award was much more than the award or money, because the farm show she says is near to her heart. The Farm Show scholarship targets students that are or have been a member of 4-H or FFA and showed a animal through the farm show. Showing a hog, being actively involved in the Penn Manor FFA and now pursuing an Agriculture Education degree allowed her to stand out for this scholarship.

Victoria and her family visit the Farm Show every year!

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is a family affair for Victoria.  She remembers racing to the food court to see who would try all the new foods first. Victoria says,  "When I get my first bite of fried mushrooms or lamb stew for the year, I instantly think back to so many fun memories of attending the Farm Show with my whole family and arguing over which delicacy to get first!"  Congratulations Victoria on all your accomplishments, from attending farm show as a little girl, as a showman, volunteer and scholar, and best wishes on your future travels as you prepare to be an Agricultural Educator!

Congrats @penn_state 2016 Farm Show Scholarship recipients! Proud of this group & our @agsciences students! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/EitPwJPaAL

— Jean Lonie (@JeanLonie) January 12, 2016

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog. 

Kayla Hack

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @hackkayla

2017 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Are you ready to impact the world? Global Learning in Agriculture Conference 2016 (#GLAG16)

" #GLAG16 is over. Let's stay motivated to continue to make Ag Education our focus point," was one of the many tweets in the Global Learning and Agriculture Conference twitter challenge. Gaspari was a participant and presenter at the Global Learning and Agriculture Conference hosted online by the Penn State Teach Ag! Team.  The Global Learning in Agriculture Conference, GLAG for short, is a place for innovation and collaboration, and a time for educators to come together to develop global learning. This year’s conference was hosted in an online format which allowed stakeholders from all over the country and world to share their experiences in global learning.  

Megan Miller and Pat Henne, Agriculture Teachers
from Michigan were 2 of the presenters at #GLAG16

A virtual conference?  How does that work, and how is it engaging?  From presentations pertaining to taking high school students on an immersion experience abroad, to learning how to bring the World to our classrooms, the day was packed with intriguing topics, including a keynote address. Dr. Caitlin Haugen, an Education Program Specialist with the Peace Corps shared her expertise on “Curating Partnerships in Developing Global Competence: The task of  21st Century K-20 Educators”  delivered by Dr.  Caitlin Haugen, an Education Program Specialist with the Peace Corps.

"Conference in a Box"
"Thank you" to all our
vendors!

The day didn’t stop there, throughout the presentations all of the participants could participate in questions posted by presenters as well as enjoy their "Conference in a Box" sent ahead of time.  Participants didn’t have to worry about not having someone to share their ideas or ‘light-bulb’ moments with, over 370 tweets were shared before, during and after the conference to keep the conversation rolling.  Check out the archived conversation is archived conversation here: #GLAG16.  

Top 5 Resources:

1. Mapping the Nation: A perfect resource to show your students how global your state is!

2. Test your Hunger Knowledge: Find out your hunger knowledge, more about your personality and how YOU can fight hunger. 

3. VIF International Education: Develop yourself as a Global Educator and learn how to continue globalizing yourself and your classroom in an online format. 

4. Experiential Tools:  This website and resources are perfect for reflection practices while traveling abroad with students. 

5. Peace Corps World Wise Schools: World Wise Schools promotes global learning and allows teachers to connect with return or current Peace Corps Volunteers.  Dr. Caitlin Haugen,  Education Program Specialist for the Peace Corps and keynote speaker at the Global Learning and Agriculture Conference, spoke very highly of this program!

Top 5 Tweets:

#GLAG16 kicks off in just 24 hours!! Have you seen all of the sneak peeks from our presenters yet? Check them out! https://t.co/TtwfTC0afW

— Global Teach Ag (@globalteachag) January 7, 2016

@HeinertSeth Would be awesome if chapters/teams could earn xtra points for connecting their Ag Issue to a Global Issue? @skvincent1? #GLAG16

— Daniel D. Foster (@FosterDanielD) January 8, 2016

"It's not the same in every country, and it shouldn't be" @4H @kirkastroth I love this acknowledgement. #contextmatters #GLAG16

— Paige Castellanos (@paigec_psu) January 8, 2016

"Global competence is thinking beyond your own 'filter'" #GLAG16 Fantastic statement

— Blaze Currie (@BlazeCurrie) January 8, 2016

LOVE the idea of 4-H and FFA working TOGETHER #GLAG16 let's expand our reach for international experiences @4H @NationalFFA

— Sarabeth Royer (@sb_royer) January 8, 2016

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog. 

Kayla Hack

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @hackkayla

2017 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Congratulations to Dr. Laura Rice: Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

The Paul R. and Joan M. Shellenberger Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching is a huge honor for any teacher here on the Penn State Campus. This award recognizes full time instructors who exhibit excellence in undergraduate teaching and contribute significantly to the education of undergraduate students. We are fortunate enough to have the recipient of this award, Dr. Laura Rice, be in the Agriculture Education and Extension Department who not only teaches undergraduate freshman in the Ag Education 100 level class, but a professor who works one on one with student teacher candidates their senior year and sends them off to go teach!

 To be considered for this award, Dr. Rice was nominated by the staff that is in the Agriculture Extension and Education department. Her nomination packet had to include a letter stating why she should receive the award, a reflective statement about her teaching philosophy, proof and measures of her teaching effectiveness, a list of service to the students and the teaching profession, and ways that she has developed her professional development over the time at Penn State. You could not have picked a better award that would recognize all of Dr. Rice’s accomplishments she has made here!

Dr. Rice states, “I like being a part of our student’s agriculture education journey and igniting their passion for why they want to teach agriculture. It is an awesome feeling seeing the end result, watching our student teachers grow, and seeing the light bulb moment go off.”

Dr. Rice, congratulations on your award and all of your accomplishments! We can’t wait to see what other impacts you make at Penn State and the agriculture community!

To learn more about starting on the path to having a career that makes a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe by becoming an agricultural educator, please contact the agricultural teacher education program at teachag@psu.edu. Follow us on Twitter at TeachAgPSU, on Facebook, or on our blog.