Penn State Ag Ed ROARS!: Ag Alumni

Showing posts with label Ag Alumni. Show all posts

Thursday, October 22, 2015

From Classroom to Department of Ag: Sec. Redding speaks to #psuaged16

Yesterday, the 2016 Student Teacher Candidates and AEE staff met with the new Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding to discuss Agriculture Education, his time at Penn State when he was a student, and of course what he plans to do in the future with his new position.

Before Secretary Redding was the nominated by Governor Tom Wolf to serve as the 26^th Secretary of Agriculture for PA, he was the former dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley College. He is a graduate of Penn State getting his B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Extension and Education and has used his education to serve as Chair for the USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21^st Century Agriculture.

When Secretary Redding sat down with the 2016 Student Teacher Candidates they wanted to know what his expectations are for the future teachers in agriculture and what he personally thinks they should be aware of. He stated, “I believe that Agriculture Science teachers should be able to connect science and civics together to form good lessons. Teachers should be solid in science skills and be translators to why agriculture is important to show students and parents to gain support. Be contemporary on issues, well read, engaged and persistent. Lastly, look at the need for what we are preparing our students to go out and do after they graduate.”

He also gave the student teacher candidates some advice to prepare them for the future when they are student teaching and even when they accept jobs. He stated, “The top three things that you should be aware of are, you can never have enough patience, don’t be afraid to accept constructive feedback, and lastly be personally organized.” All of his advice and input for the future teachers were taken seriously and the 2016 Student Teachers felt more prepared for their student teaching experiences in the next semester! Overall his visit was constructive and the students were happy to have him!

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.

Olivia Murphy-Sweet
Student Blogger
Teach Ag! Avenger
Twitter Handle @OSweetMurph

2016 Agricultural Education Student Teacher

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Olivia Murphy-Sweet: Alumni Scholarship Award #studentsuccess #psuaged16

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same. You realize what’s changed is you” F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Olivia Murphy-Sweet has lived this quote to the fullest. She spent the summer doing research in San Ignacio Belize, immersing herself in the village of San Jose Succotz. Olivia's research focused on establishing a 4-H program in the village of San Jose Succotz. She attests to her personal and professional growth while in Belize. It’s safe to say, she returned with a different perspective on life!

Like any intentional research, there was some motivation behind Olivia’s research project. In Belize, there is a lack of youth organizational development which drives youth to turn toward crime and violence. Community leaders worry about passing down indigenous knowledge of local agricultural practice due to the lack of youth participation. Agriculture education programs are a key component of addressing this issue. Olivia’s passion for agriculture education shines through all avenues of her work.

During her research, Olivia interviewed current 4-H leaders, community leaders and students in San Jose Succotz, in the Cayo District of Belize. The interviews were to aid in understanding how 4-H youth development could be adapted to fit their cultural context in order to preserve the indigenous knowledge in the local community. In-depth studies of the village and community during her time in Belize helped provide perspective to incorporating 4-H in the village.

Olivia’s internship experience deserves accolades, as she was one of 48 students to be conferred with the prestigious Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Ag Alumni Society Internship Award. Created in 1986, the Internship Award was created to recognize students who participated in an educational internship program during the school year or summer.

Olivia would like to extend a special “thank you” to Dr. Filiberto Penados who was her in country advisor in Belize. He helped Olivia organize her trip and made the immersion into a new culture welcoming and seemless. She would also like to thank Dr. Melanie Miller-Foster and Dr. Daniel Foster who presented her with the opportunity and were a great support system while in and out of the country.

Olivia leaves these words of advice for her peers:

“I urge anyone interested in an internship opportunity to travel out of the area or even out of their comfort zone to fully understand the benefits of what you are doing. Growing my personal learning network (PLN) in a different county made my learning enjoyable."

Olivia is a shining star in the Penn State Agricultural & Extension Education Program. Her passion helps create positive agents of change to make the world a better place. Congratulations, Olivia!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Miranda Kane: Alumni Scholarship Award #studentsucess #psuaged17

The opportunities and scholarships are endless for deserving students in the College of Agriculture at Penn State. One of those deserving students, Miranda Kane, is a junior this year majoring in Agricultural Extension and Education and minoring in Spanish. She applied for the College of Agriculture Alumni scholarship and was one of 48 applicants to receive the award!

The College of Agriculture Alumni Internship Award was created in 1986 to reward students who participated in an educational internship program during the school year or summers. Since its beginning, the Ag Alumni Society has distributed $160,750 in internship awards benefiting 268 students in the college. To apply for this award you would have to create a report about the goals for the internship and an evaluation of how you viewed the internship went. Your employer also had to complete an evaluation form of how you did as well! Miranda went the extra mile and made sure that she had all of this completed to be considered for this award!

Now what exactly did Miranda do you may ask? She completed an internship as the 2015 Summer Assistant for the Chester County 4-H Program. She worked with youth all across Chester County, PA, and educated the students about the environment and their role in it. Her coworkers and her traveled to various under served communities and led a range of activities to get the members educated, active, and motivated to learn. They also encouraged members to submit crafts for the Chester County 4-H fair and directed tours for the members who joined them at the Chester County fair. Overall Miranda states that she had an amazing and educational summer working for the 4-H extension office but she couldn’t have done it without the help of people that worked in the office with her. Tracy Murdaugh who was the Programs Assistant during the summer and her supervisor Toni Stuetz both provided her with an “inside scoop” on how 4-H programming is run and the skills and techniques necessary for working with the youth. The experience motivated her only positively to becoming a great Agriculture Educator one day.

We know that Miranda is going to do amazing things in and out of the industry and we hope that she pursues furthering her education more and more as time goes on!