December AEE Student of the Month
The Center for Professional Personnel Development would like to recognize Marissa McPeak-Kennedy as the December Agricultural and Extension Education Student of the Month. During her time at Penn State in the AEE major, Marissa has shown outstanding efforts in and out of her academics. She is majoring in Agricultural and Extension Education with a minor in International Agriculture and graduates in May of 2025. Marissa is from Baden, Pennsylvania and attended Ambridge Area High School. When asked why she chose Penn State Marissa says, "I chose Penn State because when I was in eighth grade, my school took us on a field trip to the Penn State Beaver campus, and I fell in love that day. I knew form that point on, I was going to be a Penn State whether that be at a branch campus or at main campus." Her favorite class so far has been ENT 222N which is Honeybees and Humans she says, "This class not only taught me about a topic I previously had no knowledge on, but also gave opportunities for hands on learning and field trips." On campus she has been involved in the Dairy Science Club, Alpha Tau Alpha, a work study Secretary for the Animal Science Department, and a Teach Ag! Avenger. Marissa loves to hand out in the HUB for a lively environment and the library for a more quiet one.
During her time at Penn State, Marissa has had many defining experiences. First she notes that in her freshman year she switch from Animal Science to Agricultural and Extension Education. She also was a part of the Global Orientation to Agriculture Learning program where she got to learn about global agriculture and then teach for a week at a school in Kentucky. Marissa has also enjoyed attending the PAAE and NAAE teacher conferences to gain knowledge and resources from current agriculture teachers.
One interesting thing about Marissa is that she has worked at the Pittsburgh Zoo for seven years. Her hobbies include playing with her dogs and geckos, listening to music, watching animal documentaries, and painting. She loves to eat at SNAP Pizza and her favorite sports teams are the Pittsburg Penguins and the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Beginning in January, Marissa will be student teaching at Twin Valley High School with Mrs. Nicole Weaver. She will teach Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR), Plant Science, and Agriculture Leadership/Global Agriculture. She is most excited to work wither her cooperating teacher to use some creative ways to teach the classes. Her cooperating teacher is the ag teacher and drama teacher so she is excited to see how the two overlap.
Marissa's future plans are to go into the classroom and teach agriculture. Ideally, she would like to get a job in or create an elementary agriculture program. Her agriculture interest and passion are focused on global agriculture and natural resources.
Marissa's favorite quote is:
"Success is not a miracle. nor is it a matter of luck. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, positive or negative."
Follow Marissa on Social Media
@marissamkennedy
Erica Teagarden
CPPD Student Worker
Agricultural and Extension EducationClass of 2026
