 |
| Your 2018-19 Teach Ag! Avengers from L to R (starting at top): Sam Loy, Victoria Herr, Kayla Rose Stauffer, Beth Winklosky, Maddie Bentz, Erin Langdale, Alicia Gates, and Megan Royer. |
We can all probably think back to our high school days and early college years, and remember a time where we might not have even had a clue of what we wanted to do with our lives yet. How did you ultimately decide what you wanted to do? Luckily, FFA members and agricultural students have the Teach Ag! Avengers to help them find out!
If you're currently an agricultural teacher or working in the agriculture industry, perhaps you had a conversation with one of our Avengers, sparking your interest in the field of agriculture. We're showcasing our 8 outstanding Teach Ag! Avengers, who are serving as the face of the Agricultural and Extension Education major for The Pennsylvania State University's 2018 - 2019 year. As Kayla Rose Stauffer puts it, the purpose of the Avengers is, "...to promote agriculture in a positive light and to help decrease the shortage of agricultural educators."
Meet our 8 outstanding Teach Ag! Avengers, who are serving as the face of the Agricultural and Extension Education major for The Pennsylvania State University's 2018 - 2019 year:
Victoria Herr (@Victoria_Herr), #psuaged19Why do I want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach agriculture because I saw the impact that my agricultural education teachers had on my own life and I want to pass that impact onto the next generation."
Why am I a Teach Ag! Avenger?
"I chose to serve as a Teach Ag! Avenger because I believe it is important to give back to the Ag Ed community. We've all been given so many opportunities and so much support during our time in Ag Ed and it's up to us to continue that cycle and give back by recruiting and supporting the younger members of our community."
Alicia Gates (@gates_alicia), #psuaged20Why do I want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach Ag simply because I believe in the future of agriculture. I believe that to have a positive and growing future in the agricultural industry we need to educate generation after generation on the industry that puts the clothes on our back, the shelter over our heads, and the food on our plates."
Why am I a Teach Ag! Avenger?
"I wanted to be an avenger to help maximize my experience in the field of Ag Ed so that I can provide a valuable learning environment for my students someday."
Megan Royer (@Megyyy22), #psuaged21Why do I want to teach Ag?
"I want to become an Agricultural Educator because of the impact my teacher and my Ag program has had on me. I learned so much about myself as well as other through my program and I would like to create that opportunity for other kids. Most importantly, I want to become an Ag Teacher because I want to teach kids and get kids excited not only about information and skills that will not only set them up for a bright future but also help those kids thrive in our ever-changing world."
Why am I a Teach Ag! Avenger?
"I chose to become an Teach Ag! Avenger because I wanted the opportunity to promote and discuss an occupation that needs everyone! More importantly, I wanted to stress that just because you may not fit into the typically cookie cutter outline of what most people would consider as Ag does not mean there is not a place for you, and here in Ag Ed we would be extremely happy for you to join us!"
Why do I want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach Ag to create a world where consumers understand where their products come from and not that they come from the shelf at the supermarket. I also want to teach Ag to reach out to those children that don't know what they want to do, and to explain the benefits of teaching agriculture."
"I chose to be a Teach Ag! Avenger to help reduce the shortage of agricultural educators. I also chose to be an avenger to show students the important of agricultural education and why agricultural education is a great career pathway to choose!"
Why do I want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach Ag because I believe it's one of the only subjects you can teach that directly prepares students for a world outside high school, through the knowledge of where their food comes from, CDE's, and the multitude of different subjects (math, bio, chemistry) covered by Ag."
Why am I a Teach Ag! Avenger?
"I chose to be a Teach Ag! Avenger because I want to help directly impact youth in FFA programs around Pennsylvania while furthering my teaching and professional skills."
Elizabeth Winklosky (@Winklosky_Beth), #psuaged19Why do I want to teach Ag?
"I like the individuality and the impact that I have on a part of each student's lives."
Why am I a Teach Ag! Avenger?
"This is where we can get other people to feel the same passion that I do. Many people don't know what they want to do until it happens, and that's exactly what happened with me, so I want to be there to let them know that teaching Ag is an option for them!"
Erin Langdale (@ItsErinLangdale), #psuaged20
Why do I want to teach Ag?
"Simply put: we ALL need agriculture to survive. By 2050, there will be over 9 billion people living on this planet, and it’s the challenge of agriculturalists, to figure out how we will provide enough nutritious food for everyone. Agricultural education not only informs people of that fact, but it shows students how they play an active role in the agriculture industry. It is vital that all people be knowledgeable of where there food comes from, and agricultural education is a huge factor of informing the general public about the agriculture industry."
Why am I a Teach Ag! Avenger?
"Agricultural education is something that I am so passionate about, and being a Teach Ag! Avenger, means getting to spread that passion to others. I thought that being a Teach Ag! Avenger would be a great opportunity to represent Agricultural Education, and Penn State (two things I love so much). I also decided to become a Teach Ag! Avenger, because it would give me valuable experience in advocacy, and sharing my story in agriculture."
Maddie Bentz, #psuaged21
The Avengers are attending each weekend of the ongoing PA FFA ACES Conference, held February 3rd - 4th, 10th - 11th, and 17th - 18th, to engage with current high school FFA members, recruit for the Agricultural and Extension Education major, and answer any questions students may have about a future career that creates a positive impact on the lives of students across the globe.
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
College of Agricultural Sciences
Instagram: kauffman_hunter
Email: hlk5120@psu.edu
Now this is fun blog post! (what happened with Maddie's response?)
ReplyDeleteBut man - that group photo---and we wonder why we sometimes dont have gender equality.