Second Year Series: The Experience of Jasmine VanSant

We are often times looking for new inspiration or motivation to be successful in the classroom as an educator. One of the best ways to get inspiration and motivation is to ask questions for current educators to answer. Our current educator featured in the blog is Jasmine VanSant. She is one of two educators at Pequea Valley High School in Lancaster County. Jasmine is part of the #psuaged15 cohort, and has been teaching for two years.

Jasmine believes that the most inspiring moments she has had were from students succeeding in both inside and outside the classroom. She enjoys seeing students show an animal for the first time at the fair, receiving their FFA degree, and watching students successfully complete a welding project. "Its these “aha” moments that encourage me to stay in this profession because of the direct impact that it has on our students." Her second year of teaching she focused on learning from her experiences during her first year to improve her teaching strategy. She has taken more responsibility in her second year as serving as one the advisors of the Lancaster County FFA Association. 

Every agricultural educator has a great moments that they can look back on and view them as their favorite moment. Jasmine's favorite moment is when she gets to take students on trips and events. "It allows you to connect with students and build rapport with them. It also allows students to really see how much you care about them by dedicating your time to set up these opportunities for them and take them to new learning environments." In her past two years she has learned more than she can imagine. It requires a lot of heart and determination. Even though it takes sweat, tears, and time the results of impacting students lives outweigh the hardships.

Every career there will be struggles involved, but as an agricultural educator all those struggles come on at once. She believes that there is always a struggle balancing school life with personal life in which she still struggles to separate. "It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the things that you need to accomplish and complete but you do need some “you” time or another outlet to take your mind off of the work that you need to accomplish." Her one piece of advice is to enjoy the rollercoaster ride and hang in there. Never stop improving yourself, get involved, and attend PAAE Conferences to get additional improvement for your curriculum. "There are times that you don’t feel that you are an effective teacher or that you can’t do it all, but just know that you make a difference by just being YOU! Without YOU there would not be an Ag program or class."

Thank you Jasmine for your words of wisdom, and we wish you the best of luck to advance your curriculum and impact the students in your classroom.

Luke Kerstetter

Student Blogger

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher