Penn State's 2017 NAAE Upper Division Scholarship Winners

Angela Becker

22 students from across the United States had received the Upper Division Scholarship from the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). Their efforts in academic performance, leadership, service, and passion to become an agricultural educator has allowed them to qualify for this scholarship. Penn State has three students that were selected to receive this scholarship Angela Becker, Allyson Balmer, and Rosalind Cowan. Each of them will receive $1,500 to offset their expenses during their student teaching experience this spring.

Allyson Balmer

Rosalind Cowan

Angela will be student teaching at Manheim Central High School in Manheim, PA, and she plans to use the scholarship to help with finances including teaching supplies and rent for her apartment. Allyson plans to use the scholarship for living expenses and supplies as well while she is student teaching at Tri-Valley High School in Hegins, PA. Rosalind will be student teaching at Penn Manor High School in Millersville, PA, and she plans to use the scholarship to offset living expenses during her student teaching experience.

The funding for this scholarship came from Growth Energy, National Geographic Learning | Delmar Cengage Learning, and donations from Herman and Bobbie Wilson. Growth Energy as stated in their mission statement, "represents the producers and supporters of ethanol, who feed the world and fuel America in ways that achieve energy independence, improve economic well-being, and create a healthier environment for all Americans now." National Geographic Learning is a part of Cengage Learning and they, "believe that an engaged and motivated learner will be a successful one, and they design our materials with a highly interactive storytelling approach which is a great way to invoke these connections." 

The NAAE is a professional organization in mission to provide advancements to agricultural education, grow agricultural educators, recruit and prepare future agricultural educators that have a passion to teach. They provide their 7,800 members with resources that can be used inside the classroom as well as professional development through conferences and conventions. The mission of the NAAE is, "Professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service."

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!

Luke Kerstetter

Communications Team Member

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher