Welcome Mia Sullivan to the CPPD and GTAN Team

 Penn State Teach Ag! would like to welcome Mia Sullivan as the newest Center for Professional Personnel Development team member. She is currently the Global Teach Ag Network Teacher-in-Residence and assists with PSU Teacher Education. 

Mia says, "Penn State was not on my radar until I participated in the GLAG19" which was put on by the Global Teach Ag Network. At the time she was a secondary agriculture teacher trying to better herself for her students. In 2021, Mia started thinking about pursuing her doctorate in agricultural education in hopes of teaching at the collegiate level. "I had already had 1.5 (COVID was weird) student teachers in my classroom and thoroughly enjoyed working with them. It inspired me to play a more active role in preparing the future of our profession". After a doctoral assistantship in Agricultural and Extension Education/ Education, Development, and Community Engagement was posted by Penn State. "And that would be the moment I put my hand on the doorknob to walk through the Penn State Ag Ed door. My BS (University of Kentucky) and MS (Tennessee State University) were both blue/white and had feline mascots so it just made sense to keep with that and become a Nittany Lion", Mia shared.

Before beginning her journey at Penn State, Mia taught agriculture in Tennessee for nine years. Throughout her teaching experience, she taught at four different schools, two of them being her high school and middle school alma mater. Mia attended Eagleton College & Career Academy in middle school and the current principal was her high school ag teacher. The middle school transitioned to a 6-12 grade program and her principal had planned to add agricultural education. Mia says, "He asked if I'd be interested in being the ag teacher and starting this brand new 8-12 program. This experience holds a special place in my heart because the community is the same one that raised me. The students there are the same students that I grew up with. It was such an honor to work with my principal and the supportive community in creating this amazing opportunity for these kids." 

In her role with GTAN (Global Teach Ag Network), she facilitates learning and develops a curriculum for the GTAN program for undergraduate students: GOALs. This is a virtual course that includes 18 students from Penn State, the University of Idaho, Kentucky State University, North Carolina A&T University, Tuskegee University, and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore. She also assists Dr. Foster in the AEE 412 Methods of Teaching in Ag & Env. to prepare those eight students for their student teaching experience in the Spring. 

Mia has been a CASE Lead Teacher for three years and is certified in AFNR, ABF, ASA, ASP, NRE, and AgX. She did international travel as an undergrad in 2010 to Gisha, Scotland. This past summer she traveled to Uganda with the GTAN Teach Ag Uganda experience funded through the USDE Fulbright Hayes Program. Her plans are to continue with international travel and research and develop students to become future agriculture educators and professionals.  

In her free time, Mia loves working on restoring cast iron, canning and preserving food, and cheering for the Tennessee Volunteers Football Team on Saturday. She has been married for 11 years to her husband Joe and they have a Great Dane named Charlie Brown and eight chickens back in Tennessee. 

Connect with Mia

Email: mcs6395@psu.edu

LinkedIn

Erica Teagarden

CPPD Student Worker

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2026

CPPD September Student of the Month- Brandon Bixler!

 AEE September Student of the Month

Each month the Center for Professional Personnel Development recognizes one Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education student for their outstanding efforts within the undergraduate program, extracurricular activities and community involvement. For the month of September, Brandon Bixler is being recognized as the Student of the Month. 

Currently, Brandon is a Senior studying Agricultural and Extension Education with a minor in International Agriculture. He is from East Earl, Pennsylvania and is a 2019 graduate of Garden Spot High School. During his time in high school, Brandon was a member of the Grassland FFA Chapter. From 2019 to 2020 Brandon served as the Pennsylvania FFA Vice-President and was the 2021 PA FFA National Officer Candidate. He said, "I owe much of my professional and personal growth to my time in FFA and those who influenced me on my journey!"

Brandon shared, "I chose Penn State because of the people and opportunities that make this university all that it is. I was profoundly impacted by agricultural educators who went through the AEE program, and this legacy of enduring impact alongside the vast professional network and opportunities for experiential learning made coming to PSU an easy decision". On campus, Brandon is involved in Ag Advocates, Teach Ag! Avengers, PSU FFA Alumni and Supporters, Collegiate Farm Bureau, Coaly Society, University Park Undergraduate Association Student Government (UPUA), and Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA). He has also been an AESE Student Consultant, INTAG 100N Teaching Assistant, and apart of the GOALS Program. He has also had internships with the Global Teach Ag Network, Corteva Agriscience, HOPE International, and NAAE Teach Ag Ambassador Program.

His agricultural passion stems from his interest in International Agriculture. Brandon stated, "I have a specific interest in international agricultural development and exploring how I can use my background in agricultural education to share agricultural knowledge and practices to support development efforts benefiting entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers. I enjoy connecting international agriculture concepts to each of the subjects I will teach in the classroom!" 

Brandon has had many travel opportunities that added to his experience with international agriculture as well. He shared, "During my time at Penn State, I have been fortunate to travel a fair amount including four new countries (Nepal, Dominican Republic, Canada, and Kenya). Whether doing undergraduate research or participating in an embedded course, I have grown so much through these opportunities to learn from others around the world".

Brandon's favorite class that he has taken was CED 497- Community Engagement with Pennsylvania Farmworkers. In this class he had the opportunity to work with Spanish-speaking farmworkers on a local dairy farm and gained experience teach English. He enjoys hanging out with his some of his favorite people in Ferguson 213. In State College, his favorite place to eat is Sower's Harvest Cafe. The Philadelphia Eagles and Penn State Nittany Lions are favorites of Brandon. His hobbies include spending quality time with his family and friends, time outdoors, hunting down new coffee spots, and playing games. An interesting thing about Brandon is that he has a 7-year-old Golden Retriever named Penny. 

In January, Brandon will begin his student teaching at Athens Area High School with Mr. Dave Steinfelt and Ms. Sarabeth Alderfer. He will be teaching SAE/FFA, Ag Mechanics 1, Ag Mechanics 2, Ag &
Natural Resources, Into to Ag, Animal Science, and Horticulture. He said, "I am most excited to teach a broad variety of courses and gain experience in new content like Ag Mechanics. I'm also excited to experience life and agricultural education in Northern PA - this will be new for me!" After graduating, Brandon plans to begin his career as an agricultural educator and seek opportunities to make a positive impact with his work. 

Brandon's favorite quote is:

 "The time is always right to do what is right." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Follow Brandon on Twitter and Instagram

Twitter: @BrandonBixler

Instagram: @brandon.bixler

Erica Teagarden

CPPD Student Worker

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2026