Madelyn Bentz Climbs Mountains for Agricultural Education

When the pandemic gave her a mountain to climb, this "little adventure every day" senior in Agricultural and Extension Education was glad she was no stranger to hiking. Where others may have stumbled on the uncertain path that COVID-19 carved out of her senior year, Madelyn (Maddie) Bentz made herself a cup of whipped coffee, laced up her hiking shoes, and started toward the top, preparing herself for her Student Teaching Experience and career after graduation. 

Maddie's journey in Agricultural Education began with her enrollment in Seacoast School of Technology in Exeter, New Hampshire. In this two-year program, Maddie learned everything plant and animal science from her Agricultural Educator Ms. Anne Demarco. She explains, "I came into Ag Ed and FFA not knowing much about agriculture, but through her, I was exposed to a whole new world that I fell in love with instantly". Alongside her classroom instruction, Maddie was an active member of her FFA chapter and competed in twelve different Career Development Events and Leadership Development Events. She also held five state titles in Agriculture Sales, Agriculture Communications, Horse Evaluation, Agriculture Issues, and Employment Skills. In addition to competing in events, Maddie was on the leadership team for her chapter, then served as Chapter President, was recognized as the Outstanding Chapter Officer her senior year, and was in the top four for Supervised Agriculture Experience placement for Equine Science. 

After a strong recommendation from Ms. Anne Demarco, Maddie decided to pursue an undergraduate degree at Penn State to become an Agricultural Educator. While at Penn State, she took part in three specific experiences that she feels greatly benefitted her as a future teacher. First, Maddie's role as a Shaver's Creek Outdoors School Counselor helped to revitalize her passion for experiential learning. Along with fifteen other counselors, she helped to educate fifth graders about the natural world. The second experience that helped to prepare her for her career was working as an Orientation Leader and Student Staff Coordinator for Penn State. Maddie says, "These two jobs have changed me for the absolute best and have reinforced my passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion, honed in my group facilitation skills, and refined my soft skills with communication and working with people in general". Lastly, Maddie was able to spend a week in Belize as an Agricultural and Extension Education student. This gave her the opportunity to understand indigenous, small holder farmer, large scale production, and global agriculture, equipping her with a unique perspective on the scale of the industry. With these three experiences to guide her, Maddie is ready to scale the next part of her journey in Agricultural Education; her Student Teaching Experience.

This spring alongside Ms. SaraBeth Fulton and Ms. Sherisa Nailor, Maddie will be Student Teaching at Big Spring High School. "I chose Big Spring because I was looking for a program that is strong in PA FFA so that I could understand FFA at the state and chapter levels, seeing as I am someone from out of state". While completing this experience, Maddie is looking forward to expressing her love of nature and natural systems by teaching a Fish and Wildlife class as well as getting hands on experience working with the Big Spring FFA chapter. After completing her Student Teaching Experience, Maddie hopes to get a teaching job somewhere in Pennsylvania. 

While COVID-19 has proved a challenge for Maddie by adding to her stress as a student and cancelling the trips seniors in the AEE major usually take, this social landslide has not kept her from taking advantage of extra time to create lesson plans. Additionally, she has been collecting virtual resources to use in the classroom. If anything, the pandemic has allowed Maddie to prepare for sudden changes to her Student Teaching Experience as she explains, "While I work on lessons I also find myself thinking about how I could adapt and change lessons to fit an online format and I jot down those thoughts on a separate document". Of course, despite being ready to adjust her trek up the mountain COVID-19 has put in her path, Maddie is looking forward to getting back to normal so she can hug her friends and family again. 

Above all, Maddie's Penn State Teach Ag! Family believes that her energy and heart will help her to conquer any mountains that she has to climb in her Agricultural Education journey. "The disparities that COVID-19 has brought to certain groups of people and communities has amplified my commitment to create inclusive space in the classroom for my students". Maddie, WE ARE proud of your commitment to inclusion, a trait that will help you to connect with students and make an impact in your school community. To follow the rest of Maddie's journey in Agricultural and Extension Education, tune into her blog "Bentz-er Days, Through Bentz-er Ways" at https://maddiebentz.blogspot.com/.

Taylor Halbleib

CPPD Student Worker

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2022