Douglas Brown Wins the Outstanding Service Citation Award

“My experience in instructing students and advising [FFA] members for 28 years has developed me into being a passionate, motivated, organized as well as, believe it or not, patience instructor” is what Douglas (Doug) Brown said when asked how teaching has made him a better person. This serves as a true testament to why he has received the Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE) Outstanding Service Citation Award.

This prestigious award goes to current and retired individuals who have made significant contributions to Agricultural Education at the state, regional, and national levels. A member of #psuaged95, Doug dedicates his time and energy to being an agricultural educator and FFA Advisor, which he says is a rewarding vocation. “...seeing student reaction upon their performance on a class project or an FFA achievement, this creates a wealth of pride for me as an instructor on today’s youth and tomorrow’s future leaders.” It is obvious that he cares about his students and considers their success as a measurement of his own, which is a trait that charismatic and selfless educators possess.

However, he admits that things have not always been easy! His advice to beginning and pre-service instructors is “…you are in this profession BY CHOICE NOT BY CHANCE. It is a challenging profession if completed correctly. There will be many hours devoted to your classroom, laboratory area, professional development, etc. that you will not be reimbursed for, however remember that students in ninth grade through life will depend upon you for guidance, strength in decision making, problem solving and just being there for them when maybe no one else is.”

It is this thought process that has led him to earn the PAAE Outstanding Service Citation Award. In December of this year he will be representing Pennsylvania at the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) national convention as he vies for the NAAE Outstanding Service Citation Award!

Congratulations on this remarkable achievement Doug! Here at Penn State we are excited to continue to see the impact you make on your students and Pennsylvania Agricultural Education!

Justin Kurtz

#psuaged22

Twitter Handle: @JustinDKurtz

March 2019 Student of the Month: Killian George: @KillianGeorge

Every month we recognize a student within the Agricultural and Extension Education program who has gone above and beyond as our Student of the Month. A freshman, Killiann George has been chosen as our March Student of the Month! Let's learn a little more about Killian and why we've decided to choose her as Student of the Month.

Killiann is currently a freshman in the Agricultural and Extension Education program, but don't let her semester standing fool you. She is the Social Committee chair for LEAD Society, a student worker for the Center for Professional Personnel Development, and a TeachAg! Avenger. She was inspired to become an Agricultural Educator after watching her high school teachers. "I saw how they encouraged students to become their best and helped them reach their end goals while advocating for an industry they are passionate about." Killiann is excited to inspire and encourage students to reach their fullest potential.

Some fun facts about Killiann are:

Hometown: Harrisburg PA

Graduation: 2022 #psuaged22

Birthday: January 25, 2000

Favorite PSU Class: AEE 499: Teach AEE/INTAG 499: Indigenous Knowledge and Agricultural Education 

Favorite Sports Team: Penn State Football

Favorite Hang-Out on Campus: Penn State Creamery 

Favorite Place to Eat in State College: Au Bon Pain

4-H/FFA Background: Was apart of the Perry County 4H Livestock Club, also a member of the Greenwood FFA Chapter and graduated from the Cumberland Valley FFA Chapter.  I also competed in several CDEs and LDEs with Extemporaneous being my favorite to compete in. 

Favorite Quote: "Challenge is nothing more than a seed of opportunity."

To learn more about Killiann follow her on Twitter @KilliannGeorge and Instagram @killiann3.

Congratulations Killiann on your amazing achievement being named March's Student of the Month!

Luke Kerstetter

Communication Team

Twitter Handle: @Luke_Kerstetter

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher

#TeachAgPSU2NY

"Welcome to New York, It's been waiting for you..." - Taylor Swift. One of the many jams we listened to on the way to New York to visit an outstanding high school and elect New York FFA's National FFA Officer Candidate. 

Terra Ingram and Beth Mathie had taken six students in the Agricultural and Extension Education major to New York. Our first stop on Friday in the Empire State was at Tully Junior-Senior High School in Tully, NY. At the school, we were greeted by Mrs. Leann Jordan, the current Agriculture Teacher at the high school, and Mr. Terry Hughes, an extension support specialist at Cornell University. She had shown us around the program and talked with us about stepping into a program that has had a legacy. Mr. Hughes explained the process of becoming certified to teach in New York since it is different than Pennsylvania.

Our second stop was in Syracuse, NY at the New York State Fair Grounds. On Friday evening we had orientation/training on the process of selecting New York's NOC. Once we had finished up our training, Mr. Hughes treated us to a fantastic dinner at Dinosaurs Bar-B-Que. Absolutely wonderful food, check it out if you are ever in New York! 

Saturday was the big day! We held interviews with candidates for the majority of the day. Throughout the time we spent interviewing and deliberating, we all had ah-ha moments of what it is like running for a National FFA Officer position. "I ran for PA NOC in 2016, and I now realize why I would not have made a great candidate that year," Luke expressed. We all had learned a lot through this process and opened up our eyes to what we might experience as we train future state officers/national officer candidates. 

The group of students that went was Jess Barnhart, Luke Kerstetter, Megan Royer, Elise Laudenslager, Jill Palmer, and Adalyn Reed. We all enjoyed our time in New York, and had lots of fun with the dynamic duo Terra and Beth!

Luke Kerstetter
Communications Team

Twitter Handle: Luke_Kerstetter

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher

#psuaged19 - Ready to Serve

2019 Student Teacher Check-In with Manny Catala (@MCatala35)

Manny Catala is the current student teacher at Pequea Valley.

We stay in close contact with our student teachers while they complete their student teaching experiences and cap off the Agricultural and Extension Education degree! As part of staying in touch, we love to showcase what our student teachers are up to while they get to try out what they've been learning at Penn State! Our next Student Teacher Check-In is with Mr. Manny Catala, teaching at Pequea Valley High School alongside Mr. Doug Masser (@MasserD), a recent alumni of Penn State's AEE program in 2012.

Time sure does fly! Manny has been student teaching at Pequea Valley for 9 weeks now, and through this time he's gotten to go through a variety of learning experiences. Manny shares that one of the things he's learned in regards to his relationship with his students is that small conversations can make large impacts. He shares that talking to his students has been very important to his success: "The more I get to know my students and their interests, the easier it is to engage them in the content." He also shares that his favorite part of student teaching has been having these one-on-one conversations with his students. This gives Manny a chance to build his relationship with them, and also serve an educational goal by allowing him to help them with their class projects in a more personal way.

Manny instructs students at Pequea Valley High School.

Challenges are inevitable when you start your student teaching experience, so we wanted to know what some of the challenges were that Manny had to face when he arrived at Pequea Valley in January, and how he was able to overcome them. He told us that it was challenging for him to work with students who simply weren't motivated. "A way I try to handle this is building rapport with my students and creating a fun environment for them in class."

Manny has the opportunity to teach a variety of classes, including Power Tech, Large Animal Science, Ag Biology, Horticulture, Intro to Ag Mechanics, and Ag Business. Being able to teach across a wide range of subjects affords the chance to be involved in some really neat opportunities. "... I am able to expand my content knowledge and see what I like and don't like." His favorite class to teach is his Ag Biology class because he has been able to build a strong connection with his students there.

Lastly, Manny shares that it's important to enjoy your time student teaching; "...It goes by fast so appreciate the time with your students and learn from your mistakes."

We appreciate Manny sharing his wisdom with us, and we wish him the best of luck as he powers through the rest of his student teaching experience at Pequea Valley! You can follow Manny through the rest of his student teaching journey by keeping up with his blog, 'Manny's Manual'. 


Want to read more about Manny?

• September 2018 Student of the Month

 

 

Hunter Kauffman

Team Leader, @TeachAgPSU Communications

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

College of Agricultural Sciences