College of Ag Sciences Alumni Society Award presented to #psuaged19 member Victoria Herr (@Victoria_Herr)

Victoria and two of the Lehigh Valley Zoo's education animals.

It's a wonderful thing to see our #psuaged students achieve, and from time to time, we like to recognize their hard work and achievements.  Therefore, we want to take the time to congratulate #psuaged19 member Victoria Herr (@Victoria_Herr) for winning the annual $1000 internship award from the College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society for her summer internship with the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, PA.

When asked what motivated her to apply for the internship, Victoria said she always had a passion for the outdoors and working with animals. "...growing up, I dreamed of being a zoo keeper or having my own show on Animal Planet. "Although she admits her goals have changed a bit since that time, she still holds the same passion. She came across the Lehigh Valley Zoo at Ag Career Day in her freshman year at Penn State. After reading about their Conservation Education internship, her sights were set, and she prepared for the next career day, where she scored an interview and was hired to serve in the Conservation Education position for this past summer.

During her internship, she had the opportunity to lead zoo tours, nature hikes, creek studies, and educated guests on native plants and animals. At the end of her time, she had easily completed hundreds of hours teaching, and she was able to give educational presentations on over 30 different animals in the zoo!

Victoria and Doug, and African Grey Parrot, and one of
the Lehigh Valley Zoo's education animals.

'On-the-job' experience is important, she says, and even in a non-formal setting there's lots to learn. Victoria says, "I’ve had a lot of people ask me how this internship was relevant to my career and I don’t think they realize just how relevant it was!" She continued to explain how such a different environment allowed her to pick up on a variety of teaching techniques and gain many unique experiences, which will make her a better teacher in the long run. Seeing education from the non-formal side allowed her to contextualize what she has been learning in the classroom for the previous two years and get a handle on essential skills for teaching, such as public speaking and overcoming common teaching obstacles.

Victoria admitted that it was very hard to pin down one favorite thing about her summer, but the impact that she was able to make on visitors was meaningful to her. "I believe that a connection to nature is a really important thing that our society is really pushing further and further away so getting the chance, even for a few minutes, to help people make that connection was a really incredible thing." 


When asked if she has any advice for those thinking about a career in Agricultural Education, she says to go for it; "Whether or not you see yourself in a classroom, there are so many opportunities for a career with a degree in Ag Ed." Victoria truly believes in the great experiences and wide breadth of knowledge that the major gives you access to. "That opens the door to so many careers, seriously!" She encourages AEE majors not to just look at formal Ag Ed internships, but rather look at a variety of opportunities that get you out and in front of people. Victoria's internship is a prime example of just one of the many opportunities that a degree in Agriculture and Extension Education can lead to.

If you're interested in her time at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, check out Victoria's blog about her experiences this past summer!

We're proud to see a fellow #psuaged member be recognized for her hard work and dedication to agricultural education! We wish Victoria the best of luck in her future career as an agricultural educator!

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

Celebration Continued: Dr. Ewing Receives Honors @jce122

As we begin to wind down from last week’s celebrations with family and friends, this week we join in celebration to recognize Dr. Ewing for being recognized as the Community of Scholars 2016 Northern Region Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Launched in 1992, the Community of Scholars Honoring Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences program recognizes outstanding college professors of agriculture, natural resources, veterinary and human sciences. A selection committee of nationally recognized teachers and scholars choose two national recipients and two early career awardees. Also selected are six regional award recipients. The nominees are evaluated based on their instruction ability, educational innovation, service to students, professionalism and scholarship. Sponsored by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the award is presented at their annual meeting.

Excellence in College and Teaching Awards also recognizes university faculty for preparing students for the future.  Requirements of eligibility for a Regional Award include: a person who exhibits sustained and meritorious teaching, as well as maintained at least eight consecutive years’ experience in higher education teaching. While a sustained pattern of meritorious activity is expected, this award does not recognize teaching longevity so much as it recognizes the quality of recent achievements involving teaching philosophy, methodology, and self-assessment aimed at improvement.

Dr. John Ewing many accolades made him eligible for this award.  Dr. Ewing's accomplishments are highlighted below!

Teaching- A Penn State faculty member since 2006, Dr. Ewing’s teaching focuses mainly on undergraduate education. He has taught eight different courses related to teacher education. Dr. Ewing has the ability to connect theory and practice into each class topic, allowing students to see relevance in their learning. Also, by connecting his research on experimental learning and content specific to agricultural education, Dr. Ewing has been able to help future teachers prepare for management of their own high school agricultural education program.

Service- Dr. Ewing has served as the undergraduate program coordinator for Penn State's Agricultural and Extension Education major since 2008. This role helps guide students to opportunities that enhance their Penn State experience and their educational journey to becoming an agricultural educator. 

Other Recognition- Dr. Ewing’s desire to help students has been recognized through multiple organizations and awards. These include the following: North Central American Association for Agricultural Education’s Outstanding Early Career Agricultural Educator Award, College of Agricultural Sciences Community of Teaching Excellence Award, North American Colleges and Teachers of Agricultural (NACTA) Teaching Award of Merit, Penn State Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Award of Merit, and the NACTA Teacher Fellow Award.

Through Dr. Ewing's hard work and dedication to teaching & service, he has achieved much as a teacher educator at Penn State. He gives credit to Dr. Tracy Hoover and Dr. Rama Radhakrishna. He says “They have both provided me excellent mentoring over the past 10 years at Penn State. Both have supported me in my teaching, and have always encouraged me to be the best teacher and advisor that I can be for my students. I appreciate all of their help.” It is evident the continued effort Dr. Ewing puts forth to achieve what others have helped him become. This recognition is quite an honor, and we thank Dr. Ewing for his time and dedication.

Congratulations Dr. John Ewing!

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.

Halee Wasson

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @wasson_halee

2018 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Outstanding Early Career Agricultural Educator Award: Dr. Daniel Foster #teachag

The Pennsylvania State University prides itself on being a leader in academics preparing its students for a successful career upon graduation.  Having this reputation, it comes as no surprise staff members go above and beyond for their students to prepare them for their future. In the Agricultural and Extension Education Program, we are fortunate to have Dr. Daniel Foster, Assistant Professor and Student Teacher Coordinator.  Dr. Foster has been recognized as the AAAE North-Central Region Outstanding Early Career Agricultural Educator Award.

The American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) recognizes annually an individual who is in the early stage of a university career in agricultural education to recognize contributions to the profession and encourage others in the profession to emulate the achievements of those recognized. Dr. John Ewing and Dr. Laura Rice co-nominated Dr. Foster to be recognized on a national level for his accomplishments in the field.

In the nomination packet, there needs to be evidence relating to excellence in the following categories: Teaching (preservice and in-service), Research (personally or directed), Writings, and lastly Service whether it is professional, community, state, and or nation.  To show you just some of Dr. Foster’s achievements, please look at the following below to show you just some of his achievements.

Teaching- Dr. Foster has taught courses in pre-service teacher education for a grand total of seventeen courses. Currently Dr. Foster instructs the Methods of Teaching Agriculture and Environmental Science, Developing Youth Leadership through Organization and Program Structure course, and serves as the student teacher coordinator. He has also developed a global competency course for our students called Global School-Based Agricultural Education.  Course work included students traveling to South Korea to meet students majoring in agricultural education at Seoul National University.

Research- Dr. Foster has had the opportunity to do several research projects including: examining current levels of cognition (teacher and student) in college classrooms, and studying what is needed to develop teacher candidates to lead programs and to make our teachers and students globally competent. Since his time in the profession, Dr. Foster has had articles published in refereed journals and presented papers and posters at professionals meetings.

Service- Dr. Foster has represented Penn State on a national and global scale since joining Penn State. He encourages students daily and has even worked with the FFA and 4H organizations. Outside his work with these organizations, Dr. Foster has led training's, seminars, and workshops offered during research conferences and meetings.

Dr. Foster’s extensive hard work and dedication to the Agriculture Education major and profession makes him well-deserving of the AAAE North Central Region Outstanding Early Career Agricultural Educator this year. We are thankful for Dr. Foster who pushes us to be the best agriculture educators that we can be and we can’t wait to see what he does in the future in and out of the profession.

Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Foster! 

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.

Olivia Murphy-Sweet
Student Blogger
Teach Ag! Avenger
Twitter Handle @OSweetMurph  

2016 Agricultural Education Student Teacher