Penn State Alum to receive the Honorary American Degree

Mr. Paul Heasley has taught at SCASD for 24 years, and
been an FFA advisor for 36 years.
Photo courtesy of scasd.org

Mr. Paul Heasley has been teaching in the State College Area School District for 24 years, and has been an FFA advisor for 36 years. Back in October of 2017, during his last year of teaching, Mr. Heasley was honored as a distinguished alumnus of the State College Area School District. Now, one year later, he will be recognized again for his time and dedication to his thousands of students and to Agricultural Education as a whole as he receives the Honorary American Degree through the National FFA Organization.

Mr. Heasley grew up right here in Happy Valley, graduating from State College Area High School in 1975 and graduating from The Pennsylvania State University several years later. Mr. Heasley has had incredible success as an agricultural teacher and an FFA advisor, shaping thousands of lives through his career by implementing high-quality agricultural education programs and showing dedication that reaches far beyond the classroom. During his time as an agricultural science teacher and FFA advisor, Mr. Heasley has acquired over $500,000 in grant money to offer opportunity and growth for his students and, in turn, the surrounding community.

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Heasley has been involved all around the Commonwealth working with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Soil Conservation Service, and serving on The Pennsylvania State University's Agricultural and Extension Education Advisory Committee. He's been able to advise and evaluate over 200 Agricultural and Extension Education students at The Pennsylvania State University who are now teaching students of their own. One of his greatest accomplishments was earning the Centre County Grange Fair's "Friend of the Fair" award, which he received in 2015 for his countless years of devotion to the annual event which is one of the largest grange fairs in the country.

Mr. Heasley teaching students about electric arc welding.
Photo courtesy of scasd.org 

He adds that, "...teaching Agricultural Sciences is more than a job or career - it is a lifestyle and holds so many rewards other than just a paycheck or other teaching positions. You become part of so many of your students' lives and families that will provide many benefits beyond the classroom walls."

The Honorary American Degree is the highest award an adult can receive through the National FFA Organization. There are quite a few boxes that need to be checked before someone is eligible to receive this award, and those that are nominated to receive the award by their state association have made great contributions to Agricultural Education and the FFA. More details about the award can be found here.

After being an agricultural teacher for over 30 years, we asked Mr. Heasley if he has any advice to share for current and new teachers and FFA advisors. He says that it's important to, "work at being the "lead learner" in your classroom as you grow professionally in the latest technologies found in the Ag industry. Become a part of your community and take leadership roles in Ag groups and PAAE." Staying ahead of the curve and staying connected to those you serve is an important part of being a teacher.

To make this honor even more bittersweet, Mr. Heasley will be receiving his Honorary American Degree alongside two of his former students receiving their American Degrees at the National FFA Convention in October. This student award is the is the highest award that can be given to an FFA member by the National FFA Organization, and analogous to the award Mr. Heasley will be receiving.

Both of these students, Megan Royer and Justin Kurtz, are pursuing degrees in Agricultural and Extension Education from Penn State. Megan thinks it's only appropriate that Mr. Heasley will be with them both in October; "I think it's fitting that he's getting it [the American Degree] with us, because I wouldn't be receiving my American Degree without him and who he's been. Everyone always says he's like the grandfather you've always needed... ...he really is awesome."

During his time as an FFA Advisor, Mr. Heasley now has taught two past Pennsylvania FFA State Officers and four American Degree Recipients.

Mr. Heasley, along with Pennsylvania's three other recipients of the Honorary American Degree, will be receiving this award at the 91st National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana, taking place from October 24th - 27th, 2018.

Contratulations Allyson Balmer, #psuaged18 member Hired!

Ms. Allyson Balmer, recently hired by Kutztown Area High School.

Another one of our recent graduates of the Agricultural and Extension Education major at Penn State, Ms. Allyson Balmer, was recently hired by Kutztown Area High School to begin on August 27th as a long-term agricultural science substitute teacher.

During Ms. Balmer's time at Penn State, she kept herself busy in many areas of the College of Agricultural Sciences and developed a diverse skill set along the way. She took on membership in Teach Ag Society!, Collegiate FFA, and Dairy Science Club, and was even a Camp Counselor for Shaver's Creek Outdoor School, a four-day outdoor education program for elementary school students held at Shaver's Creek, Penn State's nature center. Her list of accomplishments and accolades at Penn State goes on and on, meaning Allyson is well-prepared for her new role in Kutztown.

In Allyson's new position, she will be responsible for teaching horticulture, a horticulture class for life skills students, floriculture, large animal science, wildlife and natural resources, and an SAE class. Allyson says she's excited to work with students of all backgrounds and levels of knowledge, and hopes to make them informed consumers and leaders in their communities. She's especially looking forward to the Life Skills class she has an opportunity to teach. "...they work incredibly well and partner with the life skills students in the high school to provide them a Horticulture class. It is a really unique opportunity and I am very excited to work with the life skills students and teachers for this class."

We asked Allyson if she has any advice for those preparing to student teach or those thinking about becoming a teacher. She says, "My advice is simple. Risk boldly and never be afraid to ask for help, whether from your cohort or administrator. While student-teaching try new ideas, activities, and techniques. You will never know if something is awesome if you never try." Ms. Balmer's student teaching took place at Tri-Valley High School alongside veteran teacher Ms. Gretchen Dingman. She says that the best time to experiment with new ideas and explore the unknown is while you're under the wing of a teacher with experience.

She leaves us with one last piece of encouragement about Penn State's Agricultural and Extension Education program:

"Penn State has an incredible Agricultural Education Program in the rigorous coursework and rewarding experiences you are able to have as a pre-service teacher. I am thankful to have a very strong foundation in planning and preparation, meaning developing curriculum and creating intellectually engaging lessons. We are all educators first, so I believe this to be something Penn State really prepares its agriculture teachers for."

We wish Ms. Allyson Balmer the best of luck as she steps into her new role at Kutztown Area High School!

Congratulations George Dietrich, #psuaged18 member Hired!

George Dietrich, another member of the #psuaged18 cohort, has recently been hired by Oley Valley School District in Oley, PA as a long-term substitute for their current agricultural teacher.

George excelled in Penn State's Agricultural and Extension Education program, where during his time in school he was involved in many aspects of the College of Agricultural Sciences. He was a member of Delta Theta Sigma and of the Alpha Tau Alpha honorary fraternity, as well as involved in the Teach Ag! Society, Collegiate 4-H, and the Dairy Science Club.

During his final year of college, George completed his student teaching at Cumberland Valley High School under the mentorship of Ms. Darla Romberger. After his student teaching, George became well-versed in Intro to Ag, Food Science, Biotechnology, and Ag Construction, all of which were classes that he taught. The experience he brings to Oley Valley reaches beyond just content, and into the community. During student teaching George was able to lead students in designing chicken coops to donate money to Pens for Hens, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that provides pens, training, education, and laying hens for residents in Haiti.

In his new role as long-term substitute for Oley Valley's agricultural program, Mr. Dietrich will get to use his experience to teach Intro to Ag, Advanced Animal Science, Plant Science, Ag Leadership, and International Agriculture. During his time with the school, he even gets to lead two teams of FFA members that are going to National Convention to compete in October!

We asked Mr. Dietrich if he has any advice for those looking to go Ag Ed, and he said, "It's a lot of worthwhile fun. It is a fun major with great professors and great cohort members to work with you along the way. Get involved with clubs and don't be afraid to be involved on Ag Hill. Lastly, going to sports events is a great thing to do during the summer."

If you would like to see more about George and his #psuaged journey, check out his blog here:
https://fromgreenblazers2bluecorduroysaged.blogspot.com/

Congratulations George! We're excited to see where this job takes you, and to hear more success stories from our #psuaged members!

 

Hunter Kauffman

Team Leader, @TeachAgPSU Communications

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

College of Agricultural Sciences

Congratulations Heather Wasson #psuaged18 member Hired!

Congratulations Heather Wasson! Ms. Wassson a #psuaged18 cohort member was recently hired at Huntingdon Area High School in Huntingdon, PA!

While Heather was attending Penn State she was a part of Dairy Science Club, Ag Student Council, Delta Sigma Fraternity, Collegiate FFA, and Teach Ag! Society. Ms. Wasson student taught at Cowanesque Valley High School. During her student teaching she taught Metal I, Ag Science, Horticulture, and Family Consumer Science. While she was there she had a community-based unit, and she worked with the Tioga County Extension to hold a Pesticide Meeting for farms to get points for their spray license.

Ms. Wasson will be the sole teacher at Huntingdon Area High School which has had an agriculture program since 1958. She took over Mr. Armstrong's position because he was hired at Mifflinburg High School. Heather grew up 10 minutes from the Huntingdon County line. She states, "I am lucky enough to know a lot of the agriculture community through my father doing custom farming and participating at the Huntingdon County fair to exhibit my Holstein cattle." Huntingdon Area School District is unique to her because it is the opposite of where she grew up, but still close to home. It is a rural are and the high school is quarter the size of State College. She exclaims, "However, that is what I like about it! I like that it is different than home. It reminds me of where I student taught." The community supports the agricultural program well. She will be teaching SAE/Independent Study, Ag Industry Project, Ag Metalworking, Small Animal Science, Large Animal Science, and Ag Leadership.

Heather expressed, “Wow. I feel blessed to have been offered this opportunity. To say I am not a little scared for the future would be wrong. Of course, I am scared, but I am only scared that I may not meet my own expectations. However, I feel very positive about the future! Huntingdon High School has a very supportive community, staff, and students that stand behind each other. With all this I feel I can succeed in this program.” She also provided advice to those looking to go into Ag Ed. "My advice for anyone looking to go into agriculture education is DRIVE. Once you become an educator about something you are passionate about you will not look back and will be driven to keeping moving forward in this occupation."

Congratulations Heather! We cannot wait to see how you inspire, motivate, and change lives through your agriculture program in the coming years!

Luke Kerstetter

Communications Team Member

Twitter Handle: @Luke_Kerstetter

2020 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Congratulations Karlie Wright #psuaged18 member Hired!

Congratulations Karlie Wright! Ms. Wright a #psuaged18 cohort member has recently been hired at West Greene Middle/Senior High School in Waynesburg, PA. 

While Karlie was attending Penn State University she was involved with Collegiate FFA as an undergraduate student and TeachAg! as a graduate student. She had student taught at Fort Cherry High School. At Fort Cherry she taught Introduction to Agriculture, Advanced Leadership and Communications, Animal Science, Floral Design, Vet Science, and Horticulture. One interesting lesson that she taught was a community based unit in which students built raised garden beds that would be installed between the high school and elementary school. The lesson also included the high school students teaching the elementary students a lesson on raised garden beds.

In her new position at West Greene High School she will be teaching Intro to Agriculture, Animal Science, Biotechnology, Horticulture, Vet Science, Agricultural Leadership, Agribusiness, as well as an 8th grade agriscience course. West Greene is a small school so it is supported by the community heavily. The graduation class size is 40-50 students and the district covers about half of Greene County! The West Greene agriculture program has been around for at least 70 years. It has also been ran by Bryon Hughes and then his son Curt Hughes took over 31 years ago. Karlie states, "This program has produced many successful tradesman and college students over the years. People still talk about their time spent in these classrooms and what it meant to them while they were in school and what it still means to them now – and what they hope it will mean to their children...Let’s just say, for as small of a program as it may be, I have some high expectations to meet and big shoes to fill." 

She also provides words of advice for those looking into becoming an agricultural educator, "Go with your heart. Stay you. Make every situation positive. Always keep searching for your WHY." As Dr. Seuss once said, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” 

Congratulations Karlie! We are excited to see how you prepare the next several generations with the skills they will need to become that next experience professional.

 Luke Kerstetter

Communications Team Member

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

Congratulations Michala Kuhlman #psuaged18 member Hired!

Congratulations Ms. Michala Kuhlman! Ms. Kuhlman was recently hired by Owego Apalachin School District. She is also a member of the #psuaged18 cohort.

During her college years Michala was involved in Collegiate FFA, Dairy Science Club, and Teach Ag Society. She student taught at Central Columbia High School and she taught a wide variety of courses there which has prepared her for her new position. While she was student teaching she enjoyed utilizing different teaching methods, working with students on various CDEs and LDEs, and attending National Convention with some of the students from Central Columbia.

At Owego Apalachin High School Michala is the sole teacher at that program. She grew up twenty minutes away from the school and she spent a lot of her time in the town of Owego. She had showed at the Tioga County Fair which is located in the heart of Owego. She feels that it is great opportunity to give back to community that helped raise her to the person she is today. One unique thing about the program is that this will be the first year of bringing back the Agriculture Education program since 1961. Since this a new program they are still working on what will be taught. The first year will be dedicated to designing the program and developing rapport with the students as Michala will teach various lessons on agriculture in their core academic classes. 

Michala states, "It has always been my dream to start a new ag program, i’m excited to be living that dream in a community that helped shape me into the person I am today." She also offers her advice to students looking to study Agriculture Education. She exclaims, "If you’ve ever considered agriculture education as a potential career, do it! Ag ed is so unique as you will get to experience all aspects of agriculture on a daily basis, see your students develop a passion for agriculture, and be welcomed into the TeachAg family. If you have a passion for agriculture and making a difference in student’s lives, agriculture education is the way to go."

Congratulations Michala we all wish you the best of luck starting your new program. We can't wait to see the success you will have.

Luke Kerstetter

Communications Team Member

Twitter Handle: @lmkerstetter96

2020 Agriculture Education Student Teacher

The 2018 CASE Institute: What a blast!

The participants of the 2018 CASE Institute.

The 2018 CASE Institute has come to an end, and our participants from all over the country have come out more confident, prepared, and certified to deliver proper instruction on mechanics and technology to their students.

This year's CASE Institute was held at Cumberland Valley High School and hosted by #psuaged alum Ms. Darla Romberger (@DJR_131). The institute ran from June 17th to the 28th, where participants were able to be certified through CASE's Agricultural Power and Technology curriculum.

Over the course of two weeks the program covered 180 days of curriculum, and included topics useful to any agricultural teacher such as shop safety, machine and tool operation, fabrication, energy and power, and more! Attendees got to not only practice themselves, but learn how to meaningfully teach on these topics.

CASE provides 10 courses that fall under four major pathways covering almost every aspect of Agricultural Education. Each of these courses aligns with national standards for agriculture, science, mathematics, and English language arts. The Agricultural Power and Technology course is just one of the many courses that Penn State will continue to help provide for pre-service and in-service teachers.

Follow us on Twitter (@TeachAgPSU) and Facebook to stay up to date on all of the professional development opportunities that Penn State Teach Ag offers, and be one of the first to hear about the 2019 CASE Institute!

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.

 

Hunter Kauffman, Student Blogger 

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

College of Agricultural Sciences

Email: hlk5120@psu.edu