Recap: Penn State and the 2018 Big E!

Pennsylvania FFA members proudly display the Sweepstakes Banner, awarded to
the state with the collective score of CDE's and LDE's for the weekend.
The sweepstakes was a tie between Ohio and Pennsylvania this year. 

This past weekend our Penn State students traveled to Massachusetts with The LEAD Society at Penn State to be a part of the Eastern States Exposition, referred to as The Big E. This on from September 14th to the 30th. During the first weekend of The Big E, FFA members from all over the Eastern Region travel to the fairgrounds to compete in Career Development Events and Leadership Development Events (CDEs and LDEs respectively). Almost 900 students from 20 different states make an appearance at the fair. For some of them, this is an opportunity to hone their skills before competing at National Convention. For others, it's just another chance to engage with FFA members from across the Nation and enjoy the fair's atmosphere.

Justin says he enjoyed seeing
extemporaneous pubic speaking
now as a judge instead of a participant.

Every year Penn State students travel to the Big E to help run the CDEs and LDEs that are held throughout the weekend. Through this unique opportunity, our students get hands-on experience facilitating a wide variety of events and get to practice giving constructive feedback to FFA members that compete. Our students assisted in the Extemporaneous Public Speaking, Veterinary Sciences, Poultry Evaluation, and Environment & Natural Resources competitions.

Justin Kurtz, current member of #psuaged22 was one of three Penn Staters who served as judges for the Extemporaneous Speaking competition held Friday afternoon. He comments, "Today was great. Honestly, the favorite part of today was seeing a demonstration of growth by youth in agriculture while judging the extemporaneous speaking competition; the power you have as a authoritative role to make a positive impact on someone else's life."


The Big E was a great opportunity for our members to gain experience in facilitation and delivering constructive feedback. Especially for our Agricultural and Extension Education majors, these are areas that they'll be working in for the rest of their careers. For those students not heading off to be an Agricultural teacher the experiences of this past weekend were equally important. Libby Baker-Mikesell, a Plant Science major, is aspiring to be an environmental educator with a focus in soil and water conservation. Libby was facilitating and grading the soil science portion of the Environment & Natural Resources CDE and served as a judge for Extemporaneous Public Speaking. She says that, "..being able to judge CDEs like extemporaneous public speaking and environment and natural resources allowed me to gain a better understanding of the knowledge base present in today's youth while reinforcing the importance of hands-on experiential learning". 

Some of our Extemporaneous Public Speaking facilitators
and judges that helped with the event.

The weekend was topped off at the awards banquet on Saturday night, where we got to hear from Erica Baier, National FFA Secretary, as she delivered her keynote speech about her experience in high school FFA and the importance of persistence that she learned after competing in her own CDEs. The winners of the CDEs and LDEs were announced, as was the presentation of the Sweepstakes Banner, awarded to the state that collectively had the highest ranking in all competitions over the course of the weekend.

This year the sweepstakes winner was a tie between Pennsylvania and Ohio (oh no!), but as you can see in the first image, we go our share of the prize and a pretty great picture! Thomas Gabel, another member of #psuaged22, sums up the weekend perfectly:

 "...nothing is better than students being recognized for their successes and it was great to help facilitate an environment in which they could compete and achieve success and growth." 

What a great weekend for our LEAD Society members!

Want to read more about the Big E?

• Student Organization Spotlight: Collegiate FFA Experiences Big E!
• An Adventure to New England: The 2014 Big E Trip! 

Hunter Kauffman

Team Leader, @TeachAgPSU Communications

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

College of Agricultural Sciences

February 2018 Student of the Month: Libby Baker-Mikesell (@Baker_Mi16)

Each month we like to highlight students that have gone above and beyond in their involvement in the agriculture education program at PSU! We are proud to announce that Libby Baker-Mikesell was selected as the February's Student of the Month! Lets learn about her adventure and accomplishments so far.

Libby is a plant science major at Penn State, and she was inspired to become a plant science major due to her involvement in the National FFA Agriscience Fair. Libby's research had started on investigating issues within her family's beef farm, and eventually her research expanded into regional issues. She explained, "My primary research area was Plant Science, as I investigated best management practices to increase the health of the Chesapeake Bay. It was my research that led me to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in plant science." Her passion to purse this major is driven by helping students learn as they realize their potential. She believes that earning her Bachelor's Degree and studying agricultural education in a informal fashion will allow her to gain the hands-on knowledge necessary to succeed in and outside the classroom. 

After graduating with her Bachelor's Degree, Libby plans to earn her Master's Degree in Agricultural Education and teach either environmental or agricultural education in a informal setting. Her career goal is to learn something new every day. She states, "I believe that life is a learning experience and that everyone you meet has a different knowledge base. If I can approach life with a growth mindset and the goal of learning something new every day, I will have a successful career."  She stays motivated towards her major by maximizing her time on campus is reassuring that she will achieve her goals in life. 

Libby is also involved in several activities outside of class which include: Ag Student Council Secretary, LEAD Society Secretary, Collegiate Farm Bureau Ag Student Council Rep, and Lutheran Student Community Member. 

Fun Facts about Libby:
Hometown: Port Royal, PA
Graduation: Fall 2021
Birthday: September 25
Favorite PSU Class: HORT 101
Favorite places to eat in State College: Baby's, Primanti Bros.
Favorite athletics team/sport: Penn State Football, of course!
Favorite hangout on campus: Ferguson or the coffee shop above the bookstore

Luke Kerstetter

Communications Team Member

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agricultural Education Student Teacher

Welcome to the #TeachAg Family, Libby Baker-Mikesell (@baker_mi16)!

Libby Baker-Mikesell at the Nittany Lion Shrine.

@TeachAgPSU would like to give a warm welcome to Libby Baker-Mikesell (@baker_mi16) as she joinst the #TeachAg family! After completing her term of service as the Pennsylvania FFA State President, she's ready to take on the next commitment as a Freshman in the Agricultural Extension & Education major, and a member of the #psuaged21 cohort.

Since serving as a state FFA officer in the 2016-17 year, Libby has gained a deeper appreciation for those in the agriculture industry that work to provide us the food we eat every day. We asked Libby what skills she's gained as a state officer that will help her as a future educator, and she said, "...some of the best lessons were learned in the classroom. One of my favorite things I got to do this year was facilitating workshops for high school students. Planning and conducting leadership and agriculture based workshops and investing time into planning effective lessons will help in my future career. Teaching classes with limited resources has taught me to be flexible in lesson planning, timing, and in modifying lessons for students." 

Welcome to the @PSUTeachAg family!

Libby is more than familiar with the agriculture industry, growing up on her family's beef farm and spending a lot of time in her mother's Ag Ed classroom at Greenwood High School in Juniata County. Libby attended Greenwood High School and went through the agricultural education program led by Ms. Krista Pontius (@KristaPontius) and Mr. Michael Clark. It was here that she says her passion for agriculture was realized and her FFA journey began. She was active in the Parliamentary Procedure CDE and Agriscience Fair. She also maintained Agriscience Research, Beef Entrepreneurship, and On-farm Placement SAE projects as well.

She said her decision to teach Ag was made after, "Seeing firsthand the impact that my mother made on her students and in turn, my Ag teachers on myself and my classmates..."  She's excited to be able to combine her love of teaching with her passion for agriculture into a degree in Agricultural Education. Libby sees the agricultural education classroom as a place to make connections and forge relationships with students as they grow over their high school careers. Given the importance of agriculture in our history, as well as its importance in feeding a growing world, Libby says that Agricultural Education is our chance to show students that everyone has their own role in the industry, and Ag Ed programs teach our students how they can "be a key player in creating a world that is no longer food-insecure."

Finally, we asked Libby if she has any advice for those that are thinking about a career in Agricultural Education. She sees agricultural education as a unique opportunity for all; "You can walk into an Ag classroom and see the special education student sitting beside the straight-A student and the star of the football team. There is a place for everyone within the Ag classroom, and it is a privilege to teach all students about the importance of America’s number one industry." 

We wish Libby the best of luck as she begins a new journey down the exciting path of becoming an Agricultural Educator. Surely her passion for agriculture and valuable experiences as a State FFA Officer will help to positively shape her experiences in the AEE program. Welcome to the @TeachAgPSU family!

Hunter Kauffman, Student Blogger

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

The Pennsylvania State University

Email: hlk5120@psu.edu

Instagram: kauffman_hunter