#psuaged17 member Miranda Kane (@mir_kane) hard at work in Mineral, VA

Ms. Miranda  Kane, #psuaged17 member and new teacher
at Louisa County High School in Mineral, Virginia.

2017 Penn State graduate and #psuaged17 member Miranda Kane (@mir_kane) is already putting her teaching skills to work after being hired by Louisa County High School in Mineral, Virginia.
During Ms. Kane's time at Penn State, she was involved all over the University, in The Blue and White Society, Chamber Choir, Christian Student Fellowship, Teach Ag Society, and Collegiate FFA. During her senior year her student teaching took place at Greenwood High School in Millerstown, PA with Mr. Michael Clark and Ms. Krista Pontius (@Krista_Pontius). During her time at Greenwood, she taught a wide range of subjects, including Plant Science, Small Gas Engines, Agriscience, Welding, Animal Bioscience, Food Science, and Leadership.

Ms. Kane and several of her Greenwood students.

One of the most interesting things she got to take part in at Greenwood was teaching a hydroponics unit to her plant science students, "which was a really neat experience because I had never done it before and got to learn about it alongside my students." Her students constructed miniature hydroponics systems, where they were able to test them under different fertilization methods and talk about quality and management of each. She said she also really enjoyed teaching her Leadership and Parliamentary Procedure classes, and was surprised to see how much her students were enthralled by parli pro.

The Ag program at Louisa County was started in 1948, after a merger of several schools in the area. In her new position, Ms. Kane gets the opportunity to teach Horticultural Sciences and Introduction to Animal Systems, with Greenhouse Plant Production Management added on in the spring. She has a helping hand as she teaches, being one of three agriculture teachers, joining the team of Ms. Machenah Simmons, a current N.C. State grad student, and Mr. Logan Horne, who is experienced in landscaping.

Miranda has a fairly unique opportunity at Louisa County; "Both of my teaching partners are new to teaching, and we all have such different experiences with FFA and agriculture, so we are all learning together! We are excited to grow the agricultural program and give a new name to FFA and Ag Ed here at Louisa County High School." She's especially excited to see how her students are able to utilize the greenhouse and the gardens around the school in her horticulture class.

Speaking of her new job and the journey ahead, she pointed out that she's located in a very small town, quite a bit away from home. She told us that she moved to Mineral without knowing anyone from the area, and anywhere else would have seemed to be a better choice, but, "Something felt right about where my journey has taken me and I wanted to grab it while it was there. I have been given all of the tools to be successful from my past experiences, and now I get to apply them." She continues, explaining that jumping into the unknown can be challenging and overwhelming, but also prove to be very rewarding.

We asked if Ms. Kane has any advice for those thinking about majoring in Agriculture and Extension Education, and she says, , "...if you have a passion for educating students, love working with agriculture, and want to make an impact in the lives of young minds, Agricultural Education is the career for you." To her, teaching her students doesn't feel like work at all. She encourages anyone interested in agricultural education to gibe it a try and see where they can go with it. "Agricultural Education truly is a rewarding profession and a wonderful way to make a huge impact in the lives of many."

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.

Hunter Kauffman, Student Blogger

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

The Pennsylvania State University

Email: hlk5120@psu.edu

Instagram: kauffman_hunter