The Global Learning in Agriculture (GLAG) Community
Throughout my time at Penn State, one of the best parts of my college experience has been my internship with the Global Teach Ag Network (GTAN). GTAN is an organization that empowers educators to address global issues in the areas of agriculture and food security. I began working for GTAN in August 2020 as an undergraduate intern. Over the past two and a half years, I have had a number of different responsibilities with GTAN - but no matter the task - I have been most grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the global agricultural industry and play a small role in connecting educators around the world to incredible professional development and growth opportunities.
Some of my highlights of my time as a GTAN intern include working to develop a poster on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Pennsylvania agricultural educators. This resource was mailed to interested teachers and used to teach high school agricultural education students about the 17 SDGs and their connections to the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource pathways that guide agricultural education and related career opportunities.
I also have had the chance to develop content for our high school resource and curriculum program called GLAGjr, where I created a reflection guide for teachers to use with their students. I also support our GLAGreads program, where I help our rockstar leader Dr. Robin McLean coordinate a book club for educators in our community. Currently, most of my time is spent working on research related to GTAN's trip to Nepal this past May! We are sharing this work in a variety of different ways - and I am most excited about using this research as I write my undergraduate thesis for the Schreyer Honors College!
However, one of the most enduring highlights throughout the course of my internship has been my work with the Global Learning in Agriculture (GLAG) Community. Throughout my internship, I have had the privilege of seeing GLAG grow and change from a week-long virtual conference to a year-round community over 1,000 educators strong! I have fond (and exhausting) memories reflecting on GLAG weeks of the past, but it's also fun to enjoy our community year-round in a more manageable format. Educators from all backgrounds, including secondary educators from all subjects, extension educator, university faculty, and general agricultural advocates join our community to learn and share resources and opportunities with one another. Our community has had participants from over 45 countries - making it truly a global community!
Whether managing conference registrations, coordinating details and managing events with our Global Learning Partners, or supporting our community in other ways, it is a privilege to work with such passionate and dedicated people for a cause that truly makes a difference. This year, our GLAG community kicked off for 2023 with our February Launch Week. Members of the community got to connect on our platform (Mighty Networks), listen to an inspirational keynote from Dr. Alexa Lamm from the University of Georgia, and look ahead to the future of our community. One neat thing we are doing this year is offering digital badges to showcase participation in the conference...here is the first one I earned from our Kickoff Week! :)
Till next time!
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