Friday, February 15, 2019

Meet Our 2019 Teach Ag Avengers!

After the start of the spring semester, an annual event is the deciding of our new Teach Ag! Avengers team. The Avengers serve as the face of the Agricultural and Extension Education major at Penn State, taking part in recruitment activities, facilitating leadership development events, talking with prospective AEE students, and promoting agriculture wherever they go.

A great example of the work they do can be seen at the currently ongoing annual Agricultural Cooperation Establishes Success (ACES) conferences with The Pennsylvania FFA. This weekend is the last of three weekends they've been running  workshops for FFA members in attendance. 

Their workshop this year, entitled, "The Avengers Express to Career Success", teaches students about the potential career paths that lie ahead of them and gives students and opportunity to ask questions and gain insight into their own career paths. Our Avengers also travel to numerous events throughout the Commonwealth and conduct workshops at the Pennsylvania FFA State Convention every June.

We're excited to have such a dynamic team of students representing the Agricultural and Extension Education program! Our Teach Ag! Avengers are prepared to show future students not only the value of an AEE degree, but to show the importance of agriculture as a whole, and the countless opportunities that await students here at Penn State! Be on the lookout for our Avengers at an event near you! 

Here are your 2019 Teach Ag! Avengers



Erin Langdale (@ItsErinLangdale)

Erin Langdale
 #psuaged20

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"I am excited to have the opportunity to share my passion for teaching agriculture with others! I'm also excited to work alongside my friends and see them shine as well."

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach Ag because I wholeheartedly believe that agricultural education can change lives. I know I wouldn’t be the same person without it. Teaching Ag is a way that I can impact students, and teach them about an industry that is vital to our society." 

Fun Fact:
"A fun fact about me is that I have a twin brother! His name is Jeremy, he’s currently student teaching (and studying to be a history teacher), and regardless of the fact we’re twins, we don’t look alike!


Luke Kerstetter (@Luke_Kerstetter)
Luke Kerstetter
#psuaged20

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"I am excited to be a part of the 2019 Avenger team because I believe I can create a positive difference in both high school students as well as in my teammates. I am excited to work with a team of great people who all share a passion for agricultural education."

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"I want to Teach Ag because I want to be that agent of change for students like my high school agriculture teacher was for me. I also want to inspire future generations of students to take an interest in agriculture."

Fun Fact: "I enjoy hunting, especially during deer season (archery, rifle, and muzzleloader). Whenever there is a chance to go I take it."


Jessica Barnhart (@jessiebarny7)
Jessica Barnhart
 #psuaged20

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"I am excited to be a part of the team because I want students to discover agriculture education and find their passion through it. I want to share opportunities and experiences and help students ease their way into our Teach Ag community." 

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach Ag because of the impacts and growth that I had experienced myself in high school from being a part of the Derry FFA chapter. I want to give back to the kind of  program that helped me find myself, and I want to support students in their journey."

Fun Fact: "An interesting fact about me is I am an entomology nerd! I teach programs and do table events that feature my insect collections as well as my live critters like tarantulas, hissing cockroaches, scorpions, and more! I love insect education and once I get going, it's hard to get me to stop!"


Justin Kurtz (@JustinDKurtz)
Justin Kurtz
#psuaged22
 
Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"Because this gives me an opportunity to represent something bigger than myself that I have a great deal of pa​ssion for Agricultural Education. Additionally, I look forward to learning how to work with different individuals."

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"Because as an Ag teacher you teach more than classroom content. In fact, you teach students how to enhance the skills they will use throughout their professional and personal lives."

Fun Fact:
"I am color blind lol."


Killian George (@KillianGeorge)
Killian George
 #psuaged22

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"I am excited to interact with and educate students about the industry and agricultural education. I believe that knowledge is power, therefore I am excited to have the opportunity to empower students."

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach Ag for many reasons. One of those is because teaching agriculture is never the same day twice; one day you could be dissecting a chicken wing and the next day you could be testing weld strengths. I want to teach Ag because I want to be the advisor one day that I had in high school, one who pushed and pulled me to my fullest potential and still continues to cheer me on. I feel that the agricultural industry is one that is ever-evolving. I want to be part of the team who not only advocates for the industry, but also a part of the team who continues to make the industry better."

Fun Fact: 
"A fun fact about me is, my dream is to adopt an elephant and name her Nelly." 


Nathan Moyer (@nathanmoyer_22)
Nathan Moyer
 #psuaged22

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"I am excited to be a Teach Ag Avenger because I can continue to connect with students and teachers across Pennsylvania, spreading word about Penn State and teaching of the importance of agricultural education. I hope to recruit students to attend Penn State and get involved in the Teach Ag community." 

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach agriculture because it is such a valuable industry. The world needs agriculture, and students need agricultural education, both to prepare them for the future, but also to help them find their place in the world. Ag Ed allows students to find a passion and pursue it, to build a career for themselves, rather than just a job. I want to have the same impact on my future students as my Ag teachers did on me."

Fun Fact: 
"One interesting fact about me is that I volunteer at an animal rescue that takes in a variety of animals. I have worked with animals such as alpacas, skunks, kangaroos, porcupines, and alligator snapping turtles" 


Megan Royer (@megyyy21)
Megan Royer 
 #psuaged21

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"I am excited to be apart of the 2019 Avengers team because I will have the opportunity to represent our awesome major with students who are just as passionate about our major as myself!" 

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"I want to become an Agricultural Educator because I would like to help my students find their passions as well as their confident all well having fun just as my Agricultural Sciences teacher did for me."

Fun Fact:
"A unique fact about myself is that I am the only person in my family with blue eyes"



Thomas Gabel (@Gabel_Thomas)
Thomas Gabel
#psuaged22

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"I am excited to serve on the 2019 Avenger Team because we have the opportunity to advocate for a career that empowers the next generation of leaders, agriculturalists, and citizens. We get to travel and connect with amazing students, all the while being able to spread the positive word of agriculture and agricultural education, and hopefully recruit some future agricultural educators to come to Penn State! But above all, I am excited to work with my fellow Avengers as we look to be a positive influence on students all across Pennsylvania." 

Why do you want to teach Ag?
"I want to teach ag in order to have a positive influence on the next generation of students, and to be able to help them find a career that fits their passions. Agriculture is incredibly diverse and has many pathways to offer students, my hope is that I can inspire them to find one that fits them, and help them grow as a person along the way."

Fun Fact: 
"I used to be an avid fantasy baseball player (I'm talking 30 team leagues, we play all 162 games using an online program, intense stuff), but have not participated at this level since 2016. However, the last year I did play I had both Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt, both among the best in the MLB, so I was pretty happy with where my team was at that point."




 

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