Introduction

Hello everyone! 

For starters, thank you for checking out my blog! For those who I don't yet know, my name is Brandon Bixler, and I am currently a third-year student at Penn State University studying Agricultural and Extension Education. Throughout the next year and a half, this blog will be a home base for my reflections as I wrap-up my time at Penn State and complete my student teaching internship starting in January of 2024. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to use this blog as a way to highlight the incredible impact that agricultural education makes in our world while also sharing some of the moments and the people that support my development along the way. If you're reading this, I'd consider you to be one of those people - and I'm glad that you are here :).

My Background

In this first post, I'll share a bit of my background and tell the story of my agricultural education journey up to this point. I am originally from East Earl, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. Although I lived in a heavily agricultural area, I did not have an agricultural background prior to my freshman year of high school. However, I was blessed to have experience working in my family's independent convenience store and truck stop business, Martin's Trailside Express. Throughout high school, I worked in a variety of roles within the business - including Maintenance, Cashier, and Grill Cook - before eventually filling the role of Shift Leader. While my family sold the business in 2019, I will always be grateful for their example of faithful hard work and generosity. This experience continues to shape my passion for developing young people as responsible leaders.

My experience in agriculture first started in the 700-wing of Garden Spot High School. During the second semester of my freshman year, I walked into my Ag Science 1 class with Mrs. Ashley Peirson, my first ever ag teacher. I had originally signed up for this course because of my interest in wildlife and environmental science; my dad is a big-time hunter and I joined him in pursuing these interests. If you'd have asked me at the time, I would have said I wanted to be a Wildlife Biologist. While we certainly did learn about wildlife, I quickly realized that I also enjoyed learning about animal science and plant science too.

My interest in production agriculture only grew throughout the rest of my time in high school. Although I didn't grow up on a farm, I continued learning more about the agricultural community that worked tirelessly to feed our country and our world. My agriculture science courses connected all of the other educational disciplines in practical and meaningful ways, and I felt at home in the agricultural science department. In addition to Mrs. Peirson, I also had two other incredible ag teachers during my time at Garden Spot: Mrs. Heather Drzal and Mrs. Katie Ranck. It was during my junior year that I really began to consider what a career as an agricultural educator could look like, and it was ultimately Mrs. Ranck's influence and guidance from her time at Penn State that led me to the place I am today. When people ask me why I want to be an ag teacher, I proudly tell them it's because of the impact my own ag teachers made in my life and how I hope to do the same for students of my own one day! 

I also found my people in Grassland FFA, which was my high school's chapter of the national student-leadership organization that supports the development of agricultural education students across the country. Within Grassland FFA, I found my best friends and my support system throughout my time in high school and beyond. As I reflect on my time in FFA, I'm proud of the incredible growth our FFA chapter experienced during the four years I got to be a part of it. I got involved in just about every aspect that I could, primarily through my officer roles as Chapter Secretary and later President during my senior year. I participated in various Career and Leadership Development Events, including Wildlife, Agronomy, and Prepared Public Speaking.

I also conducted several Supervised Agricultural Experiences that helped me build my agricultural skillset through experiential learning. (For those who may be newer to agricultural education, I will explain a bit more about how all of these pieces come together in a future post - there's a lot to keep track of!). One of my favorite projects involved planting my home garden full of Indian Corn, where I eventually harvested the ears and made decorative bundles to sell as fall decorations. All proceeds from my project were donated to an orphanage in Kenya that also implemented agricultural education. In addition, I completed an Agricultural Education Internship during my senior year, during which I observed and worked with the ag teachers at Pequea Valley High School (Mr. Doug Masser and Mrs. Jasmine VanSant). This experience solidified my passion for pursuing this career, and I'm grateful for my time at Pequea Valley that brought me good experiences outside of my comfort zone.

My Experiences

After graduating from high school, my FFA journey continued! In one of the best years of my life, I was fortunate enough to take a gap-year and serve as the 2019-2020 Pennsylvania FFA State Vice-President. During this year, I traveled across PA and represented/advocated for FFA, agricultural education, and the agricultural industry in a variety of ways. Between visiting high schools and middle schools during FFA chapter visits, conducting conferences and conventions, engaging in business and industry visits, and interacting with legislators in Harrisburg and Washington D.C., this year was transformative like none other. This year not only allowed me to gain incredibly valuable experiences while developing as a professional, but also gave me some of my best friends in my six teammates and our State Executive Director Mr. Michael Brammer. Although the end of our year looked different than we had all planned because of COVID, I would not trade the year I had for anything! I will be forever grateful for these special people and experiences. One day, I hope to help future students of mine get to have this experience as well :).

The last step in my journey as an FFA member came during my time as the 2021 PA FFA National Officer Candidate. This year was another incredible experience, providing me with an opportunity to learn a great deal about the National FFA Organization across the United States. I met incredible people in this process and built strong relationships with candidates from across the country. Although I was not selected to serve as a National Officer, I am grateful for the opportunities I had during this last chapter of my time in the blue jacket. While it was a significant disappointment, it was a good example that the hard times are the ones where we learn and grow the most - even when it is not easy or fun. I've challenged myself to openly take what I've learned from this experience into the classroom with me in the hope that it can help my future students when they need it most. Life will come with its share of hard times, but at the end of the day the things we learn in FFA are most impactful when the going gets tough.

For the last three years, I have spent most of my time at Penn State, which has been full of stretching and rewarding experiences! Outside of my studies at PSU, I am a member of the Presidential Leadership Academy and the University Park Undergraduate Association student government where I represent the College of Agricultural Sciences. I also help to co-chair the Student Caucus in the Faculty Senate, and all of these experience have helped me learn a lot about how our university runs and given me an appreciation for leadership through gray areas and hard decisions. Within the College of Ag, I am an Ag Advocate and Teach Ag Avenger, and I also participate in the PSU FFA Alumni and Supporters Chapter and Collegiate Farm Bureau. 

I also have had the privilege of having several incredible internship opportunities. Since the beginning of my college career, I have interned for the Global Teach Ag Network (GTAN). GTAN exists to empower educators around the world through quality professional development related to global agriculture and food security. Through my work with GTAN this past May, I had the opportunity to travel to Nepal and conduct research with science educators in Nepalese schools. I will use this research as I write my undergraduate thesis for the Schreyer Honors College; it's exciting work to be able to tell the stories of the people I met and highlight the unique challenges and opportunities facing these educators.

Outside of GTAN, I have experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors from incredible internships with Corteva Agriscience and HOPE International. At Corteva, I supported research efforts with corn hybrid trials and helped with pollination and field maintenance throughout the summer. During my time at HOPE, I conducted a review of farmer training programs implemented alongside savings group programs that had been implemented in Haiti, Rwanda, and Burundi. While this work was done remotely, I did travel to the Dominican Republic to see HOPE's work in-person. These experiences have been incredibly impactful for me and have helped me build a practical skillset. I've developed a passion for informal agricultural classroom alongside the formal classroom setting, and one day I hope to have a career that allows me to do a little bit of both.

In the time remaining outside of these opportunities, I enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends, usually spent playing some games or talking over some good coffee :). I enjoy cheering on PSU sports, reading good stories (my most favorite publication is Modern Huntsman), or spending time outdoors.

Looking Forward

With only three semesters left at Penn State, I'm doing my very best to make the most of it! My last semester will be spent student teaching, and I will continue to reflect here on the blog as I go through the process of selecting a cooperating site all the way through the actual experience. I'd love to have you follow along! This March, I will also be traveling to Barrett, Minnesota to teach at West Central Area High School over my Spring Break. This trip is part of the USDA-NIFA funded GOALS program between Penn State and the University of Idaho, and has been an incredible experience thus far. I will share some highlights of that experience on here as well. 

All told, it is crazy to think that it is finally time for me to begin this process! I have looked forward to  student teaching ever since I first decided I wanted to be an ag teacher. Throughout my state officer year and earlier years of college, I watched the seniors set out on their own journeys...and now it is my turn! While there are still lots of unknowns and hard work out in front of me, it's my hope and prayer that I can use this experience to make a positive difference in the lives of students just like so many people have done for me. I've been reflecting recently on how excited I am to get back to the classroom, which is the place where my whole journey began. Agricultural education has a way of changing your life for the better, and it's exciting to think about playing a role in that process from behind the desk. 

Till next time!