Every year there is a degree awarded to only .5% of FFA
members. The students have shown their passion and commitment to FFA and have
worked hard on their Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE).This prestigious
degree is the AMERICAN DEGREE which is awarded every year at the National FFA
Convention. Some of the qualifications include taking a certain amount of
agricultural classes in college or high school, being within the time span
between high school graduation and three years thereafter, maintaining high-quality
grades, and working or investing a certain monetary equivalent towards their
projects.
This year, Pennsylvania has 74 American Degree Recipients,
whom will be receiving their degrees this October in Louisville, KY. Eight of
those recipients are current Agricultural Education Majors at Penn State!
 |
Kate showing her Market Steer
|
Kate Livingston, a 2014 student teacher, completed her
American Degree based on her projects titled Market Swine, Market Sheep and
Market Steer. After she raised all three animals, she showed them at the York
County Fair in September. Kate said that
her SAE exposed her to new experiences stating,
“Having no prior knowledge
before taking on the SAE, I made a number of connections for help and support
during my first few years. This has given me the “go get it” attitude to be
able to utilize a vast variety of resources and make connections.” She believes
that the resources and connections she has made along the way because of her
SAE projects will give her future students an advantage to additional opportunities
outside of the standard curriculum.
Deanna Miller, a 2015 student teacher, partook in SAE
projects titled Vegetable and Egg Production.
She grew tomatoes, potatoes, string beans, broccoli, peppers,
cauliflower, squash, zucchini, and watermelons in her 2500 square foot garden.
She would freeze the vegetables to use later and market them to friends and
family, but most of the time she just gave it away to whoever could use it. For
the Egg Production SAE she raised white leghorns and Rhode Island Reds
averaging about 40 hens at a time. Deanna raised the hens from chicks herself
and then kept them as laying hens. She
said that as a future educator, having an American FFA Degree is just one more
thing to encourage students to keep working towards their goals. The degree
also portrays her hard work and dedication, since it is admirable toward
employers in a variety of agricultural fields.
Bryanna Kenno, a 2015 Student Teacher, has an employment
SAE, specifically as a sandwich artist at Subway. She worked at Subway part
time for three years and it related to agriculture, as she was involved with
food handling, preparation, and safety. Through receiving her American Degree,
she has learned how to keep accurate records for SAE projects and will be able
to help her future students do the same.
Rachel Telez, a 2015 student teacher, had a variety of SAE
projects as well. She completed Entrepreneurship Goat Production, Goat
Finishing, Beef finishing, Swine Finishing, Sheep Finishing and Exploratory:
Vet. She raised all the animals and showed the goats at the county fair and at the
state farm show. Rachel worked towards the star award in her goat breeding
herd. When she worked at the veterinary office, she learned time management, experienced
working with others, and developed a better sense of her career trajectory. For
the market goats, she started with just one goat and ended up with over 40 breeding does! She learned time
management, responsibility, and marketing. Rachel used her other livestock
projects to learn how to manage money, so she could pay for college. She said
that “by obtaining my American Degree, I can encourage my future students to do
so as well. She added, “It has created a burning passion for agriculture in me,
and I cannot wait to share it with my future classroom!”
 |
Kelsey and her pleasure horse, Chance
|
Kelsey Henry, a 2016 Student Teacher, completed two SAE’s –
Goat Finishing Entrepreneurship and Pleasure Horse Entrepreneurship. For the
goat finishing project, she raised goats to exhibit in a market goat class at
the Perry County Fair. For her first year she started with one goat, but ended
up with having three by the end of her project. For the pleasure horse project,
she recorded the daily activities of taking care of a horse and kept track of all
the shows that she went to with her horse Chance. She believes that getting her American Degree
has helped her learn the importance of keeping accurate records on
projects. It also showed her to push her
future students to work hard and reach their goals.
Olivia Murphey- Sweet, a 2016 Student Teacher, got her
American FFA Degree by completing an On Farm Employment SAE project. Every
summer since she was in high school, she would travel to Camp Friendship in
Palmyra, Virginia for ten weeks. There she would teach the campers English
horseback riding lessons and horse care. She met staff from around the world
and learned different teaching techniques from them. “If you can enjoy meeting
the teaching challenges of young girls who have never been away from home,
never rode a horse, or be responsible for an activity that could not be left
unattended, you can teach anywhere.” Through working at the camp every summer
and completing this SAE, she has realized that she wanted to get an
Agricultural Education Degree.
 |
Olivia with some of the campers at Camp Friendship
|
 |
Janae as Lancaster Dairy Princess
|
Janae Herr, a 2016 Student teacher,
had a plethora of SAE projects which helped her work towards reaching her goal
of receiving the American Degree. Her SAE’s consisted of Dairy Beef Finishing,
Beef Finishing, Market Lamb Finishing, On-Farm Employment, Off-Farm Employment
and Practicum Skills – Dairy Promotion.
Janae felt that applying for the American Degree was a very rewarding
experience for her, since she got to reflect back on her FFA career as a whole
and receive one of the highest honors in the FFA organization. FFA is a huge part of who she is today, as it
helped her to develop her leadership, teamwork and communication skills. She
also formed friendships that will last a lifetime and jump started her passion
for future involvement in the agricultural industry. As she looks forwards eventually teaching down the road, she hopes
to return to the classroom to be an FFA adviser and give back to the
organization that has given so much to her.
Elizabeth Lauver, a student at Penn State Harrisburg, will
be awarded the American Degree Award as well at National FFA Convention. This
is a shout out to highlight some of the success of the students in the Penn
State Agricultural Education program!
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!
2014 Dover HS Student Teacher
Have you ever wondered how the first year of being an agricultural educator goes for that beginning teacher? If so, you are in luck for we are diving into the experience that Janae McMichael had this past year teaching at Lampeter-Strausburg High School in Lancaster County. She is one of the educators from the #psuaged16 cohort. The communications team had asked her several questions to better understand how her year went as a beginning teacher.
Janae had explained that her first year of being an educator was amazing and the best job ever. She enjoys how it is the most craziest, busiest, most stretching, and most rewarding job. Being an agricultural educator she had said, "I’ve learned a lot this past year and grown a lot. When I say a lot, I mean a lot! I think the biggest change I’ve seen in myself now that’ve got a year under my belt, is that you just have to give yourself some grace from time to time. I’ve learned to embrace the crazy and the chaos all in the honor of learning. I think I also learned the true value of just jumping in, both feet for whatever will come your way." She continues to learn everyday by asking questions and looking into resources in her built network of people. She believes that using seasoned teachers and industry professionals to better understand and apply knowledge to help educate her students. Her piece of advice to new teachers is, "Honor your time. Pick one day of the week where you leave at 3pm when everyone else does, a seasoned teacher called it “Walk Out Wednesday” and I’ve coined the same. That “white space” in my schedule where I went home and read my book or worked in my flower beds or headed to the gym has been and will surely continue to be so healthy for me. You can only fully serve your kiddos when you take care of yourself too!" 
Janae was inspired by the support from her administration and community when they hosted a showcase event in celebration of Pennsylvania AFNR Careers Week and Lancaster County Agriculture Week. She was also proud of her students who convinced their assistant superintendent to run a weld beed in one of their welding booths. She most enjoys being able to provide career opportunities for students. She stated, "Agriculture Education provides a unique platform to students to acquire the skills necessary to make them more marketable employees. I also love that I get the chance to daily influence the future of our industry." Janae absolutely loves her career as an agricultural educator and her first year was tremendous for her! We are glad you are providing opportunities for students, and doing the best you can to educate our future generations!
