Meet Our 2019 Teach Ag Avengers!

After the start of the spring semester, an annual event is the deciding of our new Teach Ag! Avengers team. The Avengers serve as the face of the Agricultural and Extension Education major at Penn State, taking part in recruitment activities, facilitating leadership development events, talking with prospective AEE students, and promoting agriculture wherever they go.

A great example of the work they do can be seen at the currently ongoing annual Agricultural Cooperation Establishes Success (ACES) conferences with The Pennsylvania FFA. This weekend is the last of three weekends they've been running  workshops for FFA members in attendance. 

Their workshop this year, entitled, "The Avengers Express to Career Success", teaches students about the potential career paths that lie ahead of them and gives students and opportunity to ask questions and gain insight into their own career paths. Our Avengers also travel to numerous events throughout the Commonwealth and conduct workshops at the Pennsylvania FFA State Convention every June.

We're excited to have such a dynamic team of students representing the Agricultural and Extension Education program! Our Teach Ag! Avengers are prepared to show future students not only the value of an AEE degree, but to show the importance of agriculture as a whole, and the countless opportunities that await students here at Penn State! Be on the lookout for our Avengers at an event near you! 

Here are your 2019 Teach Ag! Avengers

Erin Langdale (@ItsErinLangdale)

Erin Langdale

 #psuaged20

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?

"I am excited to have the opportunity to share my passion for teaching agriculture with others! I'm also excited to work alongside my friends and see them shine as well."

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"I want to teach Ag because I wholeheartedly believe that agricultural education can change lives. I know I wouldn’t be the same person without it. Teaching Ag is a way that I can impact students, and teach them about an industry that is vital to our society." 

Fun Fact:

"A fun fact about me is that I have a twin brother! His name is Jeremy, he’s currently student teaching (and studying to be a history teacher), and regardless of the fact we’re twins, we don’t look alike!

Luke Kerstetter (@Luke_Kerstetter)

Luke Kerstetter

#psuaged20

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?

"I am excited to be a part of the 2019 Avenger team because I believe I can create a positive difference in both high school students as well as in my teammates. I am excited to work with a team of great people who all share a passion for agricultural education."

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"I want to Teach Ag because I want to be that agent of change for students like my high school agriculture teacher was for me. I also want to inspire future generations of students to take an interest in agriculture."

Fun Fact: "I enjoy hunting, especially during deer season (archery, rifle, and muzzleloader). Whenever there is a chance to go I take it."

Jessica Barnhart (@jessiebarny7)

Jessica Barnhart

 #psuaged20

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?

"I am excited to be a part of the team because I want students to discover agriculture education and find their passion through it. I want to share opportunities and experiences and help students ease their way into our Teach Ag community." 

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"I want to teach Ag because of the impacts and growth that I had experienced myself in high school from being a part of the Derry FFA chapter. I want to give back to the kind of  program that helped me find myself, and I want to support students in their journey."

Fun Fact: "An interesting fact about me is I am an entomology nerd! I teach programs and do table events that feature my insect collections as well as my live critters like tarantulas, hissing cockroaches, scorpions, and more! I love insect education and once I get going, it's hard to get me to stop!"

Justin Kurtz (@JustinDKurtz)

Justin Kurtz

#psuaged22
 

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?
"Because this gives me an opportunity to represent something bigger than myself that I have a great deal of pa​ssion for Agricultural Education. Additionally, I look forward to learning how to work with different individuals."

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"Because as an Ag teacher you teach more than classroom content. In fact, you teach students how to enhance the skills they will use throughout their professional and personal lives."

Fun Fact:

"I am color blind lol."

Killian George (@KillianGeorge)

Killian George

 #psuaged22

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?

"I am excited to interact with and educate students about the industry and agricultural education. I believe that knowledge is power, therefore I am excited to have the opportunity to empower students."

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"I want to teach Ag for many reasons. One of those is because teaching agriculture is never the same day twice; one day you could be dissecting a chicken wing and the next day you could be testing weld strengths. I want to teach Ag because I want to be the advisor one day that I had in high school, one who pushed and pulled me to my fullest potential and still continues to cheer me on. I feel that the agricultural industry is one that is ever-evolving. I want to be part of the team who not only advocates for the industry, but also a part of the team who continues to make the industry better."

Fun Fact: 

"A fun fact about me is, my dream is to adopt an elephant and name her Nelly." 

Nathan Moyer (@nathanmoyer_22)

Nathan Moyer

 #psuaged22

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?

"I am excited to be a Teach Ag Avenger because I can continue to connect with students and teachers across Pennsylvania, spreading word about Penn State and teaching of the importance of agricultural education. I hope to recruit students to attend Penn State and get involved in the Teach Ag community." 

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"I want to teach agriculture because it is such a valuable industry. The world needs agriculture, and students need agricultural education, both to prepare them for the future, but also to help them find their place in the world. Ag Ed allows students to find a passion and pursue it, to build a career for themselves, rather than just a job. I want to have the same impact on my future students as my Ag teachers did on me."

Fun Fact: 

"One interesting fact about me is that I volunteer at an animal rescue that takes in a variety of animals. I have worked with animals such as alpacas, skunks, kangaroos, porcupines, and alligator snapping turtles" 

Megan Royer (@megyyy21)

Megan Royer 

 #psuaged21

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?

"I am excited to be apart of the 2019 Avengers team because I will have the opportunity to represent our awesome major with students who are just as passionate about our major as myself!" 

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"I want to become an Agricultural Educator because I would like to help my students find their passions as well as their confident all well having fun just as my Agricultural Sciences teacher did for me."

Fun Fact:

"A unique fact about myself is that I am the only person in my family with blue eyes"

Thomas Gabel (@Gabel_Thomas)

Thomas Gabel

#psuaged22

Why are you excited to be a part of the 2019 Avengers team?

"I am excited to serve on the 2019 Avenger Team because we have the opportunity to advocate for a career that empowers the next generation of leaders, agriculturalists, and citizens. We get to travel and connect with amazing students, all the while being able to spread the positive word of agriculture and agricultural education, and hopefully recruit some future agricultural educators to come to Penn State! But above all, I am excited to work with my fellow Avengers as we look to be a positive influence on students all across Pennsylvania." 

Why do you want to teach Ag?

"I want to teach ag in order to have a positive influence on the next generation of students, and to be able to help them find a career that fits their passions. Agriculture is incredibly diverse and has many pathways to offer students, my hope is that I can inspire them to find one that fits them, and help them grow as a person along the way."

Fun Fact: 

"I used to be an avid fantasy baseball player (I'm talking 30 team leagues, we play all 162 games using an online program, intense stuff), but have not participated at this level since 2016. However, the last year I did play I had both Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt, both among the best in the MLB, so I was pretty happy with where my team was at that point."

 

2019 Student Teacher Check-In with Rachel Bloom (@RachelABloom31)

Rachel's Natural Resource students with their finished 'Eco-bottle' projects.

We love hearing from our Student Teachers! Aside from frequently checking in with them, and seeing all the amazing things they do with their students in their classrooms and through FFA, we would like to help share their experience student teaching, how they're overcoming the challenges they meet along the way, and how they're preparing themselves for a future teaching Agriculture!

You can join their journeys with them! Over the next few weeks we'll be checking in with our 2019 Student Teachers and sharing their insights into their student teaching experience. Our first Student Teacher Check-In is with Ms. Rachel Bloom, spending her spring semester alongside Ms. Raylene Russell at Juniata Valley HS. We asked Rachel about her favorite parts of student teaching, challenges, and unique opportunities she was able to have along the way so far.

Rachel says that her favorite part of student teaching so far is the students. She loves that she's able to see their different personalities and build her relationship with them. "The students are also a good source of entertainment, you never know what's going to happen next, every day is different thanks to them."
 

'Eco-bottles' made by Rachel and her students.

By far, Rachel's favorite class is 5th period Natural Resources. She explains that she loves everything about the environment, and she wants to share that with her students. "I hope that by the end of my time here they at least have an appreciation and respect for the environment and the natural world around them." Rachel was able to work with her Natural Resources class on a unique project, creating "Eco-bottles" out of used plastic soda bottles. She said that her students loved making them, and, "...students that come in here [the classroom], not even just the Natural Resources kids, would find interest in them and talk about them."

Challenges during your student teaching experience are always expected, and almost always unavoidable. We get a great opportunity to learn from our current student teachers and hear how they're managing their challenges and growing as professionals. Rachel says that her biggest challenge is doing what she needs to do with limited time. "...I would love to be able to prep for each class before it starts, however I only have 3 minutes to do so." She goes on to share that she has handled this by preparing for classes as much as she can, and actually utilizing her students that arrive in the classroom first to help set the classroom up and get ready. This is a great way to involve your students in the classroom while also building your relationship with them.

Rachel has a few pieces of advice, namely that every student has bad days. "Go into every day with a positive attitude, but don't expect every student to always be giving you 110%; it's okay for them to have an off day." She also shares that she's learned to always have a plan, but that it might not always go how you thought it would. She says that it's important to be ready for change.

She thought it was interesting how her perspective has changed from student to teacher. When she was in high school, "...I always thought to myself "don't they remember what it was like being in high school?"" Now that she's a student teacher, she realizes that she does remember what it was like, but she has her own expectations and responsibilities as a teacher that need to be met. What does this mean? I think Rachel puts this into words well when she says, "...sometimes your students are going to scoff, but they'll thank you for it in the end."


We wish Ms. Rachel Bloom the best of luck as she continues her student teaching at Juniata Valley High School, and we thank her for sharing her experience and words of wisdom with us!

Hunter Kauffman

Team Leader, @TeachAgPSU Communications

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

College of Agricultural Sciences

February 2019 Student of the Month: Luke Kerstetter (@Luke_Kerstetter)

Every month we recognize a student within the Agricultural and Extension Education program who has gone above and beyond as our Student of the Month. Mr. Luke Kerstetter, a Junior in the program, has been chosen as our February 2019 Student of the Month! Let's learn a little more about Luke and why we've decided to choose her as Student of the Month.

Luke comes to Penn State from Mount Pleasant Mills, Pennsylvania, beginning his Penn State journey at the Altoona Commonwealth Campus. While there, he was actively involved in their Ag Club and Collegiate FFA. Being on a Commonwealth Campus hasn't stopped Luke from keeping involved with us - he's also been actively engaged in Penn State's AEE program and Penn State Teach Ag every year of his college career. While at Penn State Altoona, he continues to work hard as one of our blog writers and communications team members.

Luke will be graduating from Penn State in the spring of 2020, after completing his student teaching semester. His inspiration for becoming an agricultural teacher came from his past experience in the Midd-West FFA chapter in Middleburg, Pennsylvania. He explains that he wants to be an agricultural educator so that he is able to, "...make a difference in the world for students, and being that positive change for my students that my Ag teacher was for me."

Here's a little more about Luke:

Birthday: December 17th
Favorite PSU Class: AEE 349: Shop Processes for Agricultural Educators
Favorite Sports Team: Washington Capitals
Favorite Hangout on Campus: Ferguson 213
Favorite place to eat in State College:
Favorite Quote: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
4-H/FFA Background: Luke was involved in FFA throughout high school before serving as the PA FFA State Sentinel in 2015-2016. 


Congratulations to Luke for being chosen as our February 2019 Student of the Month! We wish him the best of luck as he finishes his Junior year with us, and gets ready for his final year at Penn State! 


Want to read more about Luke Kerstetter?

• April 2017 Student of the Month

Hunter Kauffman

Team Leader, @TeachAgPSU Communications

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

College of Agricultural Sciences

January 2019 Student of the Month: Thomas Gabel (@gabel_thomas)

Every month we recognize a student within the Agricultural and Extension Education program who has gone above and beyond as our Student of the Month. A freshman, Thomas Gabel has been chosen as our January Student of the Month! Let's learn a little more about Thomas and why we've decided to choose him as Student of the Month.

Hailing from Newport Pennsylvania, Thomas is a proud member of #PSUAgEd22 with a passion to make a difference in the world of Agricultural Education. “Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth”. This statement from Roberto Clemente is Thomas’s favorite quote standing as a testament to the way by which he conducts himself.

A trail of service and dedication to Agricultural Education follow Thomas in his FFA and 4-H experiences including being the 2017-2018 PA FFA State Vice President and the Wila 4-H President from 2013-2017. When asking Thomas why he chose Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State he said, “because of the genuine individuals [professors] that seriously care and invest themselves in their students.” 

Outside of his coursework, Thomas has engaged himself in learning leadership experiences such as being the Public Relations Director of the Leadership, Education, and Agricultural Development (LEAD) Society, a Teach Ag! Avenger, and a Global Teach Ag! Intern. Additionally, Thomas is a proud member of the Agricultural Student Council, Collegiate Farm Bureau, and the Cedar Heights Church.

If you want more of Thomas, you can listen to him through the #TeachAg Talks podcast series or you can find him hanging out at Baby’s Burgers and Shakes downtown. Of course, you can always follow him on Twitter @gabel_thomas and Instagram @gabelt31.

A Glimpse of Thomas:
Hometown: Newport, PA
Graduation: May 2022 (#PSUAgEd22)
Birthday: August 28th, 1998
Favorite PSU Class: AEE 216: Practical Parliamentary Procedure
Favorite Sports Team: Indianapolis Colts
Favorite Hang-out on Campus: Ferguson 213
Favorite Place to eat in State College: Baby's Burgers and Shakes
4-H/FFA Background: FFA: 2017-2018 Pennsylvania FFA State Vice President, Newport FFA Chapter President (2014-2017), competed in various Public Speaking Leadership Development Events and was part of the 2017 State Winning Parliamentary Procedure team, 2019 American FFA Degree Recipient, 4-H: Wila 4-H President (2013-2017), participated in the photography project and entered photography books at my county fair and Farm Show
Favorite quote: "Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth" - Roberto Clemente

Justin Kurtz
Guest Blogger
Twitter Handle: @JustinDKurtz
2022 Agricultural Education Student Teacher

Recap: Farm Show Ag Ed Recruitment Event

PSU Teach Ag Avenger team, faculty, and professors talking with FFA students 

Penn State Teach Ag started the new year off with a bang at the Pennsylvania in Harrisburg PA! On Monday January 7th the Penn State Teach Ag Avenger team put on a workshop for 15 high-school students interested in teaching the future of agriculture. Throughout this workshop, students had the opportunity to as questions, and learn about what it means to study agricultural and extension education, and what it’s like to be a Penn State student. Students heard from current students, faculty, and professors of the Agricultural and Extension Education program to get an inside look at the opportunities Teach Ag at Penn State has to offer. 

One of the main discussions we had with students was that every single person involved in agricultural education has their own path. Luke Kerstetter, Teach Ag Avenger and current member of #psuaged20 said this about the event "Everyone has a different story behind their interests in Agricultural Education. It may be very diverse, but we all have the same goal in mind”.

This event was also held on the same day as the Pennsylvania FFA Mid-Winter Convention where 409 Keystone Degrees were awarded, and 365 first-year members put on their blue corduroy jackets for the first time. Seeing the impact that FFA and agricultural education has on so many students certainly was moving and truly was an amazing thing to watch.

Students at Mid-Winter Convention putting on their brand new FFA jackets for the first time. 

This was also the first day of student teaching for #psuaged19. Seeing the student teachers in action was such an awesome experience. Jess Barnhart, Teach Ag Avenger, and member of #psuaged20 said “I’d like to shine a light on our student teachers at Mid-Winter Convention. They truly were immersed in all that Ag Ed is really about by having that hands-on experience with their students.”

While speaking at Mid-Winter Convention, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said: “today’s FFA members are tomorrow’s industry and community leaders”. Here at Penn State, we are proud to play a role in helping to develop those future leaders within FFA.

Erin Langdale

Communications Team Member

Twitter: @ItsErinLangdale

Agricultural Education Student Teacher 2020

2K18 NAAE Convention Highlights

In November the Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE) had several members receive awards at the 70th National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Convention in San Antonio, TX as well as other members from the organization attend to aid in directing the national association for the next year. 

The members of PAAE had also participated in professional development focusing on agriculture, sessions on building partnerships between agricultural educators, agribusiness leaders, and policy makers. Our award winners from PAAE were Meagan Slates receiving the Outstanding Early Career Educator Award and Janae McMichael receiving the National Teacher Turn the Key Award. 

Meagan Slates gets her drive by student success in and outside the classroom. She utilized technology and experiential based learning to make her daily instruction interactive. Along with experience based learning, Meagan makes her courses engaging, rigorous, and model job expectations. Meagan currently serves on the Policy Committee for both NAAE and PAAE, and has attended the National Policy Seminar in Washington D.C. to advocate for career and technical education. 

Janae McMichael is a strong supporter of the three-circle model for Agricultural Education, she actively searches for ways to incorporate the three components in a way to create contextual, inquiry-based, and engaging learning experiences for her students. Janae is devoted to be a lifelong learner and does her best to seek out opportunities to grow as an educator, advisor, team member, and industry representative.

Penn State University also had members from #PSUAgEd19 cohort at the convention to experience professional development at the national level as well as network with future colleagues. Three Penn State students received the Upper Division Scholarship from the NAAE, Victoria Herr, Ryan Rupert, and Lisa Boltz. Penn State University was also named Region VI Outstanding Postsecondary Agriculture Program. The faculty at Penn State, Dr. Daniel Foster, Dr. John Ewing, and Dr. Kevin Curry, provide their students with current methods and how to effectively use them. The curriculum utilizes eight core courses to prepare teacher candidates for their future career.

Congratulations to all award recipients, and we hope that the convention provided you with many new and innovative ways to lead your classroom and exceed expectations.

Luke Kerstetter

Communications Team Member

Twitter Handle: Luke_Kerstetter

Agricultural Education Student Teacher 2020