Honorary American Degree: Caleb Wright

At the 92nd National FFA Convention this past October, Pennsylvania was able to have one of our own FFA Alumni, Caleb Wright, was recognized as a recipient of the Honorary FFA American Degree, one of the highest honors that can be received by an Alumni.

Caleb was recognized for his role in helping Pennsylvania and the National FFA Organization through his work as a lobbyist with Versant Strategies. Caleb is one of our own Penn State Ag Ed graduates, and has dedicated much of his life post-college to furthering the interests of many agricultural organizations, with the FFA being just one on a lengthy list.

We reached out to Caleb to lean more about what drives him to do a tough job in one of our nations hardest work environments; Washington D.C.

1. What does it mean to you to receive your Honorary American degree?

It’s an amazing honor. I’m very fortunate to be able to be able to support FFA at the local, state, and national levels in varying capacities, which I take great pride in. This award is presented to a select group of individuals, and I’m humbled to be included with such great recipients from all across the country.

2. When you were wearing your blue jacket, did you ever expect that you would end up where you are today?

Absolutely not! If the life plan my younger self had determined panned out, I’d be practicing veterinary medicine with a wife and kids by now. None of those have happened! However, I wouldn’t change a single part of my life’s course. I’m especially grateful my life’s path included FFA and agricultural education to a deeper level than originally planned. It’s been a true blessing personally and professionally.

3. What part about your job do you enjoy the most?

I like the many places my  job has taken me. I know it sounds like the Dr. Seuss book, but I’ve been in fancy dinners in New York City, to tours of forests in Washington state, to our nation’s capital with FFA members, and a lot of places in between. I’ve made amazing friends and connections, all while lifting up rural America through Versant Strategies’ work and clients.

Caleb regularly donates his time to the Pennsylvania FFA Foundation, our Gold Toe SOCS leadership program, and can always be found around Harrisburg whenever anything ag occurs.

To learn more about Versant Strategies, please visit their website at versantstrategies.net

February 2020 Agricultural & Extension Education Student of the Month: Lacey Walker

Every month a student within the Agricultural and Extension Education program is chosen who has demonstrated hard work and dedication to their education, major, and passions. The Penn State Agricultural & Extension Education Student of the month for February is Lacey Walker of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.

Lacey is a sophomore majoring in Agricultural & Extension Education with a minor in International Agriculture here at Penn State. She keeps busy as a Penn State athlete on the Women’s Rugby Team and a Global Teach Ag! Intern. Lacey has been involved with the York County 4-H for 10 years where she has dedicated her time to raising and showing market goats, dairy beef, and swine. She has gained experiences in the industry and at Penn State that have helped her to excel as a student and we are proud to recognize her accomplishments.

Lacey’s favorite place to hang out on campus is the second floor of the Agriculture Sciences and Industries Building and she can also be spotted at her favorite restaurant Wings Over. Her favorite sports team is the Pittsburgh Steelers and anything Penn State, and her favorite Penn State course is Agricultural & Extension Education (AEE) 311. Lacey’s favorite quote is “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things”- Robert Brault.

You can reach out to Lacey on Instagram @_laceywalker or on Twitter @lacey_walker13. Lacey continues to impress us as she works hard towards becoming an agriculture educator and we are so excited for what the future holds! Congratulations again, on being Penn State’s Agricultural & Extension Education student of February!

Morgan Bear

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2023

January 2020 Student of the Month: Mary Wurzbach (@WurzbachMary)

January 2020 Student of the Month: Mary Wurzbach (@WurzbachMary)

Every month a student is recognized within the Agricultural and Extension Education program. A student is chosen who has demonstrated hard work and dedication to their education, major, and passions. The Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education Student of January was chosen to be Mary Wurzbach of Brogue, Pennsylvania.

Mary came to us from Millersville University and has continued to earn many accomplishments. She was involved in the Mid-Atlantic and American Highland Cattle Associations through Junior Associations and livestock shows across the Mid-Atlantic. Mary carried her interest and experiences from cattle to us at Penn State, and now as she begins her student teaching at Oley Valley High School in Oley, Pennsylvania.

Marys’s favorite place to hang out on campus is the Creamery patio, and her favorite sports team is Penn State Football. Her overall favorite Penn State course is Animal Science 201. Another one of her favorites is the restaurant “Sauly Boy’s”.

Following Spring 2020, Mary finishes up her student teaching experiences, and will be earning her degree in Agricultural and Extension Education. After graduation, she is most looking forward to working with farmers and educating others in the agricultural industry. Her favorite quote is, “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things”, by Joe Namath. Mary continues to live by this quote as she gains new experiences teaching Agricultural Education with students at Oley Valley High School. We are so excited for what the future holds for Mary! Congratulations again on being Penn State’s Agricultural and Extension Education student of January!

Morgan Bear

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2023

Pennsylvania Agricultural Educators Participate in Professional Development

The NAAE Agriscience Inquiry Institute (Ag I²) is a state focused professional development opportunity for Agricultural Educators to learn about inquiry-based teaching and techniques to better incorporate science into their Agricultural Education courses. This opportunity also allows for sharing of materials between educators and a chance to train future educators who will be influencing future generations of leaders in agriculture. This year, a group of Pennsylvania Agricultural Educators and the 2020 Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education cohort participated in Ag I² to learn about how to improve their teaching methods in the classroom through inquiry based instruction.

THE FACILITATORS

PA Ag I² facilitators in action.

"I have really enjoyed facilitating workshops and sharing ideas with the best educators from across the country" says Ms. Krista Pontius. Two dedicated Pennsylvania Agricultural Educators and members of the National Agriscience Ambassador Academy, Ms. Krista Pontius and Ms. SaraBeth Fulton, served as facilitators for this experience. While they both expected to share inquiry based education methods with hands-on applications that could be used in the classroom with a group of fellow Agricultural Educators, one of their favorite aspects of the experience was watching each participant realize how frustrating it can be to incorporate the five elements of inquiry into their lessons, but pushing forward to make their methods more student-centered and challenging. Each hoped that the participants were able to gain a valuable understanding of inquiry based instruction from the experience. Ms. Krista Pontius emphasized, "Inquiry is about changing the classroom from teacher centered to student centered... challenging student curiosity while improving their communication skills and increasing their confidence to share their own ideas".

THE PARTICIPANTS

PA Agricultural Educators at Ag I².

Ms. Darla Romberger shared, "Whenever a group of Ag Teachers get the chance to brainstorm and share ideas regarding content and pedagogy, it is time well spent". Ag I² allowed for growth in the minds of both experienced and first-year teachers, a trait that Ms. Victoria Brown truly appreciated about the workshops. "During my time at Penn State, I had the chance to engage in multiple professional development events centered around inquiry based learning. I knew that at Ag I² we would be working through some of the same content, but I was hoping to gain a new perspective since all of my other experiences with inquiry were pre-service." Both Ms. Darla Romberger and Ms. Victoria Brown were excited to learn new activities and gain new materials that they could add to use in their existing coursework. Apart from learning about the five essential components of inquiry (Questioning, Evidence, Explanation, Connection, and Communication), Ms. Darla Romberger stated that, "the collaboration between teachers was the most valuable and memorable portion of this workshop!"

THE SENIOR COHORT

Luke Kerstetter trying out new inquiry-based techniques at Ag I².

While this years seniors in Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State had just taken part in professional development at the National FFA Convention and Expo, Ag I² was made a special experience none-the-less. With their student teaching internships just around the corner, #psuaged20 dived deep into the inquiry-based techniques that would enable them to have a greater impact on their students at their cooperating centers. Luke Kerstetter says, "Getting the experience of teaching an inquiry-based lesson helped me understand the method and grasp how to reign in a class to conclude the 'why' to the lesson. As educators we can never forget to explain the 'why' behind the content being taught." This professional development experience, paired with the others they have attended, have prepared this years seniors for life in their own classrooms in the future. "The ideas that became more concrete in my mind will help me in my future to be able to create a more structured system of expectations in my classroom, but one that still gives the students freedom", says Kaitlin Liszka. Each senior appreciated how Ag I² taught them how to center their classrooms around their students, giving them tools to maximize their students' potential for learning.

Taylor Halbleib

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2022

Teachers Excelling in the Workplace

Teachers Excelling in the Workplace: Darla Romberger

Pennsylvania has a number of young agricultural educators making an impact inside and the classroom. At Cumberland Valley High school, Darla Romberger co-advises more than 170 FFA members and agriculture students, helping to guide the chapter to a number of National Chapter awards, state officers, and Keystone state degree recipients. 

Cumberland Valley FFA hosted PA Secretary of Agriculture,
Russell Reading during Pennsylvania Ag and Food Careers Week

Recognition of Excellence

Ms. Romberger was recently awarded by her Alma Mater, Delaware Valley University, the Secondary Education Award during their Alumni Achievement Awards this past fall. Delaware Valley highlighted 10 individuals who had made contributions to their chosen field and who had been active in community and professional organizations.

She said that she was humbled to to have been recognized by her peers for the successful part of her ag ed journey, and shared she enjoyed being able to showcase how agricultural education is an integral part of secondary education as a whole.

Ms. Romberger was awarded the Secondary Education Award

Ms. Romberger new she wanted to be a teacher in high school because she enjoyed helping and tutoring others. This led her to pursue a degree in agricultural education. After becoming a teacher in a suburban school district, she "quickly realized the need for agricultural education literacy in science curriculum", and she gets most excited at the opportunity to expose students to the ever changing and growing agricultural industry.

Sam Loy

2021 Agriculture Teacher Candidate

Twitter Handle: @samloy_ag

December 2019 Student of the Month: Amanda Gagne (@amg6383)

Every month a student is recognized within the Agricultural and Extension Education program. A student is chosen who has demonstrated hard work and dedication to their education, major, and passions. Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education Student of December was chosen to be Amanda Gagne of Bristol, Connecticut which is also home of the famous ESPN.

Amanda came to us all the way from Connecticut where she was involved in FFA. She hails from Southington FFA Chapter where Amanda served as the chapter Parliamentarian and Vice-President. Then she went on to serve a year as the Connecticut State FFA Vice-President. Her fondest accomplishment was placing 9th at The National FFA Convention and Expo, in horse evaluation. 

Amanda’s favorite place to hang out on campus is the HUB, and her favorite sports team is Penn State Football. Her overall favorite class is Horticulture 201, which is tree climbing! Another one of her favorites is the restaurant Roots. One interesting fact about Amanda is that as a child she was in a reality TV show and in Pepsi commercials. 

With plans of graduating this Spring of 2020, Amanda will be earning her degree in Agricultural and Extension Education. After graduation, she is most looking forward to “being able to spend time with my stepdaughter as she enters FFA and Agriculture Education at our local program.” Her favorite quote that she goes by is “Everyday might not be a great day, but there is something great in everyday”. We are beyond proud of Amanda’s accomplishments and we can’t wait to see where she goes in the future. Congratulations Amanda, on being Penn State’s Agricultural and Extension Education student of December!

Morgan Bear 

Agricultural and Extension Education 

Class of 2023

November 2019 Student of the Month: Brandon Witmer (@BWitmer)

Every month a student is recognized within the Agricultural and Extension Education program. A student is chosen who has demonstrated hard work and dedication to their education, major, and passions. Penn State Agricultural and Extension Education Student of November was chosen to be Brandon Witmer, of State College, Pennsylvania.

Brandon is a senior here at Penn State planning to graduate spring of 2020. When he graduates, Brandon will have an Associate of Science in Wildlife Technology, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Extension Education and, a minor in Forestry. Brandon transferred from the DuBois Campus and has enjoyed his time here at University Park, with his favorite sports team being Penn State Football! In fact, his favorite place to hang out on campus is in Ferguson Room 115. Brandon’s favorite Penn State class is FOR 204 (Dendrology) with Dr. Steiner. Another one of Brandon’s favorites is The Waffle Shop in State College. 

Interestingly, Brandon did not participate in 4-H or FFA in high school, but that did not hold him back, what fascinated Brandon to join Agriculture Education was the connection he could make with his passion for Environmental Education. After graduating Brandon plans to continue his education into a master’s program where he said, “I want to look at how we as agricultural educators can bring environmental education into the classroom.” 

This speaks loudly and we are looking forward to what Brandon will continue to accomplish in the future. Best of luck in student teaching next semester Brandon! Check out more with Brandon by following his Instagram and Twitter handle @BWitmer20.

Morgan Bear

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2023