Michaela Gerhart is named the Agricultural Education April Student of the Month

The Center for Professional Personnel Development is proud to recognize Michaela Gerhart as the Agricultural and Extension Education April Student of the Month for 2022. Michaela is from Honey Brook, Pennsylvania where she attended Twin Valley High School. She is a member of the #psuaged22 cohort and will be graduating this spring with a degree in Agricultural and Extension Education and a minor in Horticulture. She chose Penn State because of the amazing atmosphere that it provides for students and alumni. Michaela shared "a big part of why I chose Penn State was that they offered the major Agricultural and Extension Education which not a lot of colleges around PA offer."

Michaela is no stranger to the agricultural industry. She grew up surrounded by agriculture, but she gained a passion for it through enrolling in her high school agricultural education program and FFA. She stated "both my Ag teachers are PSU alumni and pushed me to always do my best, without them I wouldn't have gone into agriculture. Through one of our FFA events called the 3^rd Grade Tour, I was able to write lesson plans and teach students which inspired me to pursue being an agricultural teacher. From there, both of my Ag teachers started to prepare me for what being an agricultural teacher means."  While being an active member of Twin Valley FFA, Michaela competed in multiple CDE and LDE events where she eventually earned her Keystone FFA Degree and held multiple chapter officer positions. 

Since beginning her Penn State journey, Michaela has been involved in a variety of student clubs and had unique opportunities to grow professionally. She is a member of the Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity, she served as a SAY Clearing House Research Assistant and was the Berks and Chester County 4-H Program Assistant. Some of Michaela's favorite things in State College are hanging out at the Penn State Berkey Creamery, eating at Plaza Mexicana, and cheering on Penn State Football! Additionally, her favorite class at Penn State is Horticulture 202: Plant Propagation. One interesting thing about Michaela is that she breeds Corgis and she is a first-generation college student.

As Michaela is wrapping up her final semester at Penn State, she has been hard at work completing her student teaching experience along with the #psuaged22 cohort. She is student teaching at Dover Area High School with Ms. Brittany Marsh. Michaela said "I've had so many amazing experiences so far and lessons learned while student teaching but the most important one to be is creating good relationships with your students. I've realized that being a teacher is a multi-tasked job and you wear so many different hats. You are a teacher, therapist, planner, designer and so much more all in one day in every single class. Having a great relationship with your students makes all the jobs so much easier and worth it because whether you know it or not, you're creating an impact even if it's a small one. Some of my highlights include helping a student prepare for creed speaking and then winning first place at our regional contest, spending time with my students at SLLC, and showing them that Ms. Marsh and I have amazing dance moves! Overall, just watching my students do amazing things inside the class and outside are the best experiences."

One piece of advice Michaela has for other students in the major is to "enjoy your time while you're in college it really does go by fast. Get all your homework done before the weekend so that you can enjoy your time on campus." WE ARE so proud of Michaela and we can't wait to see where her career as an agricultural educator takes her. If you want to keep up with Michaela on social media be sure to follow her on Twitter or Instagram @Michaela_245.

Morgan Bear

CPPD Student Worker

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2023