The Magnificent SEVEN returns: #psuaged17 shares impact

Our Magnificent SEVEN 2017 Penn State Agricultural Education Student Teachers (#psuaged17 on Twitter - Check it out!)  return today, April 24th, for their post-internship seminar! They have spent the last fifteen weeks completing internships in secondary schools across Pennsylvania!

The PSU Teach Ag! Program thanks each of you for the role you have played in their educational journey. Below is a snapshot of this incredible group of students accomplishments. To learn more about the individual candidates, please view the PSU Teach Ag! Student Showcase: http://teachagpsu.blogspot.com/2017/02/magnificent-7-student-showcase.html.

As a group, the #psuaged17 interns:

• Taught 46 different classes to students from K-12th grades that are 40 minute periods to 90 minute “block” periods in length.

• Delivered 106 units of instruction on topics from leadership development, agricultural mechanics, environmental sciences & natural resources, plant sciences, animal sciences and much more!

• Impacted the lives of 571 individual students

• Helped their cooperating centers earn and implement $10,247 of extramural funding assisted from grants, sponsorships, and fundraisers..

• Lead students in 292 hours of community service

• Has Earned (or will earn) degrees from 4 areas:
• Agricultural & Extension Education (B.S.); Agricultural & Extension Education (M.S.); Horticulture (B.S.); International Agriculture Development (Dual Title, M.S.);

• Obtained 4 Minors/areas of emphasis:
• Business; International Agriculture; Environmental Soil Science; Spanish

• Participated in Global Learning in 13 Countries, including:
• Belize; Canada; Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France; Gibraltar (Territory);  Hungary,  Iraq, Mexico; Morocco; Nicaragua; Peru; Spain


• Completed THREE Domestic Study Away Programs in, Colorado (Service Learning Pedagogy with Farm to School Initiatives), Mississippi (Financial Literacy through agricultural education in Appalachia Areas, and Tennessee (STEM in agricultural education in rural and urban settings)


• Will have members who are Pennsylvania Certified (with reciprocity in more than 45 states) in the following 3 areas:  Agriscience K-12; Environmental Science; General Science


• Earned 10 different Additional Certifications/Accreditation/Licenses, including(listed alphabetically):
• Accredited Parliamentarians from the Society of Agricultural Education Parliamentarians; Basic Archery Instructor; Beef Quality Assurance; Commercial Driver’s License (CDL); CPI Non-Violent Crisis Prevention; First Aid/CPR/AED Certification; Food Science ServSafe Certification; National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Instructors; OSHA 10-hr Safety Course in Construction Safety and Health; Pork Quality Assurance;


• Completed 7 SLO/action research projects during their internship, including:
• Literacy and Vocabulary in Agriscience
• Exploring student expression of conceptual knowledge through varied assessment.
• Beef Quality Assurance delivered through online course design.
• Effects of Prior Experiences on Performance
• Literacy Strategies Through Reflection Exercises
• Student choice in unit projects impact on understanding of unit objectives
• The Effectiveness of Note card "Cheat Sheets" as a Study Aid for Written Summative Assessments


• Completed 7 custom learning projects (DIY Teacher Education) for their center, including:
• SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) Career Exploration Project.
• Exploring connection with TangerKIDS grants.
• In-between the rows SAE highlights in the Local newspaper
• The Artisan Market Product Guide
• Online Leadership Course
• Columbia County Ag Safety Day
• Agriculture Program Promotion on Orchard Management Unit with Centre Daily Times


• Completed 2 research projects, including:
• Identifying characteristics of effective contextually relevant Spanish language immersion experiences in Turriabla, Costa Rica
• A comparison of youth perceptions of entrepreneurship in rural Pennsylvania and Nicaragua.


• Involved in 21 professional organizations, including(listed alphabetically):
• Ag Club, Penn State Altoona; Alpha Tau Alpha, National Agricultural Education Honorary; Alpha Zeta; Association of Career & Technical Education; Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development; Boy Scouts of America; Collegiate 4-H, Penn State; Collegiate FFA , Penn State; International Agriculture and Development Graduate Student Association; Graduate Student Association, AEE, Penn State; Gamma Sigma Delta; Grange- Penn State, National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE); Navigators - Christian Fellowship, Penn State; North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture; Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE); Pennsylvania FFA Alumni; Students for Cultivating Change - Penn State; Teach Ag! Society, Penn State; Young Farmers; Wisconsin  FFA Alumni


• Gained experience or have been employed with over 22 different relevant jobs/Internships including (listed alphabetically):
• Anna’s House Outreach Center; The Arboretum at Penn State; Brightview Landscaping; BYU-Idaho Orchard and Greenhouse Manager; Cedar Meadow Swine; Center for Professional and Personal Development, Penn State; Fleming Landscape; Global Teach Ag! Initiative, Penn State; Kaye Soils Laboratory, Penn State;  Mohala Farms (Oahu, HI); National Association of Agricultural Educators; National FFA Organization; Pennsylvania FFA Association; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau;  PSU Extension - Chester County; PSU Farm Operations and Services; PSU Swine Center; Roohan Realty; Student Farm at Penn State;  United States Liability Insurance Group; Vivayic, Inc.; WSWHE BOCES Horticulture CTE School; World Food Prize


• Fun Facts about #psuaged17:
• Taught an agricultural biology class that is paired with the general biology course which every sophomore takes!
• Family legacies in agriculture: One candidate is named after my Great Grandmother who turns 93 this year and still lives on the family dairy farm.
• Includes a proud veteran of our Armed Forces
• Coordinates the Badlands Jackpot Show
• Served as a PSU TeachAg! Avenger!
• Served as a National Teach Ag! Ambassador
• Is fluent in Spanish!
• Former State Level 4H and FFA Officers from multiple states!
• Professional Commercial Drivers
• Division III Varsity Cross-Country Athletes
• Completed a two year mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints
• Shared scholarship at multiple university wide and national research conferences.


To learn more about their specific student teaching experiences, check out their professional blogs and follow them on Twitter:


• Michael Cahill (@cahillms89). Journey to Teacherhood. Cooperating Center: Bald Eagle HS;
  Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity!
• Kayla Hack (@HackKayla). Send Me. Cooperating Center: Pequea Valley HS;
  Post Graduate Plans: New Wayne Highlands (PA) Agriscience Teacher!
• Miranda Kane (@mir_kane). No Kane, No Gain. Cooperating Center: Greenwood HS (Millerstown, PA); Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity!
• Nathan Repetz (@N8_Repetz). Firing on all Cylinders. Cooperating Center: Central Columbia HS (Bloomsburg, PA); Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity!
• Matthew Rider (@mvr5027). Erudition’s Neck of Woods. Cooperating Center: Tyrone Area HS; Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity!
• Matt Snyder (@snyder6878). Growing Roots in Dirty Boots. Cooperating Center: Mifflinburg HS; Post Graduate Plans: Returning to Penn State!
• Evelyn Zaleksi (@CuteEvyAnn). Finding our Purpose. Cooperating Center: McGuffey H.S; Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity!