Hometown. A place we know, with people we know- a place that has seen our best and seen our worst, a place of familiarity and expectations. A place some of us are lucky enough to go back to. Mrs. Janae McMichael (Herr) received that opportunity to go back to the place she calls home. Teacher candidate from the class of 2016, Janae McMichael will be teaching at Lampeter-Strasburg High School!
During her time at Penn State Janae was an
agricultural business management minor and was involved in Teach Ag! Society
where she served as the President and chair of the Domestic Study Away, which
she attended twice in Colorado and Mississippi.
She served as a Teach Ag! Avenger for Penn State Teach Ag! and Ag Advocate
for the College of Agricultural Sciences.
She was also involved in Collegiate FFA.
Janae student taught with Mr. David Bittner and Mr. Greg Erb at
Midd-West High School where she learned how to effectively and efficiently
incorporate technology and involve community members and stakeholders. Janae said she hopes to “actively seek
opportunities to do the same.”
She was “Tagged to Teach Ag!” in some of the
same places she will Tag others to do the same thing. “Growing up on a generational dairy farm
certainly influenced my passion for production agriculture, but my involvement
in 4-H and FFA helped cultivate that passion focus more so on the future of
agriculture.” She credits her Dad and
her Agricultural Educator, whom she will teach alongside, for being “incredibly
influential individuals in helping me solidify my career choice in agriculture
education.”
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| Janae and her students at Midd-West |
Lampeter Strasburg is a two-teacher program where Janae will
teach alongside Holly Oberholtzer.
Together there are 180 students in the program. The Agriculture Program has courses in Veterinary
Science, Agricultural Science, Landscape and Plant Design, Agricultural
Mechanics, Welding, Electricity and Small Gas Engines.
When
thinking about teaching in the same school where she grew up, Janae reflected on
what she looks forward to while teaching.
“The opportunity to give back to the community that I grew up in;
the challenge of helping my students discover the immense amount of
opportunities that agricultural education allows for its students; playing a
role in preserving the rich heritage of agriculture in our community; changing
students lives.” Janae will be well on
her way to challenging her students and giving them opportunities to grow; in
her classes, as well rounded students as she strives to work on cross
curricular projects while meeting the needs of the community she calls home.
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.
Kayla Hack
Student Blogger
Twitter Handle: @hackkayla
2017 Agriculture Education Student Teacher
