Reflections on Professional Development Experiences

I write this post in an early morning in State College - my last week of classes as an undergraduate student at Penn State. Where has the time gone?! It feels hard to believe that I have reached this point in my college journey, but even in the midst of a busy week with lots of work to get done I feel grateful for where I am at and for the remainder of the journey to come.

Throughout the past semester, I have had the privilege to be involved in many opportunities to work with programs and participate in professional development. Those who know me well know that traveling has become a big part of my college experience over the past four years, and this blessing is not lost on me. I estimate that my university, internship, and related experiences during college have allowed me to visit 18 states and 4 different countries during the course of my time at Penn State. This semester held many meaningful experiences of its own, and I'm excited to highlight them a bit more here.

October: World Food Prize Foundation Borlaug Dialogues - Des Moines, IA

I had the opportunity to travel with the Global Teach Ag Network team as an intern with the Global Guides program. This program is a professional development opportunity for current educators from all disciplines (secondary agricultural science teachers, elementary school teachers, extension educators, university faculty members, government agency educators, etc.) to expand their ability to teach about global agriculture and food security to the students/learners they work with. As an intern with the program, I worked to support the rockstar leadership team with making instructional materials, DJing with playlists as needed, and helping to address needs as they arose. This was a busy week, but I learned a great deal about what it takes to run a excellent program for 25 educators AND got to build a professional network of teachers who are incredible at what they do. As I get ready for student teaching, I have frequently leveraged their wisdom and encouragement built from years of experience within education.

(Thank you to Dr. OP McCubbins from Mississippi State for my cool DJ poster.)

October: National FFA Convention: NAAE Teach Ag Ambassador - Indianapolis, IN

The following week, I had the opportunity to travel to the National FFA Convention with the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). At the convention, NAAE puts on a variety of outreach events to recruit future agricultural educators and support the current teachers who are powering through an impactful but crazy/tiring week. The Teach Ag Ambassador team brings together undergraduate students studying Agricultural Education from across the country to help support NAAE's programming, and I made a lot of friendships and meaningful connections through this program. My primary job was assisting in the NAAE Convention arcade-themed booth, where I helped students sign up for an email list with information about teaching agriculture and then guided them through the process of playing Skeeball/Pinball to win prizes! It was a lot of fun and I was energized at the opportunity to promote the profession to so many younger students who were full of excitement. I also had the chance at different points throughout the week to help in the Educator Wellness Lounge (where educators could grab a snack/coffee and prop up their feet for a short break while their students were busy) and in educator workshops. 

November/December: NAAE Convention: FAST Symposium - Phoenix, AZ

From the Midwest to the Southwest! Coming out of Thanksgiving Break, I had the chance to travel to NAAE's convention to participate in the Future Agri-Science Teacher Symposium (FAST).  This program is designed for students who will soon be student teaching and equipped our group with perspective and resources to get us feeling excited and prepared for this experience. This opportunity again helped to build my professional network by connecting with students in similar programs from across the country. We also had the opportunity to attend workshops at the conference with current teachers, and in these workshops I gained a number of ideas for items to include in my units for student teaching and got to think about challenges I may face when leading my own program one day (one day potentially being as soon as five-six months :0). 

I truly would not be able to be a part of any of these experiences if it were not for the hard-working, generous people who have poured into me and invested in my growth and development over my time in college. The faculty members who have invited me along and worked tirelessly to find funding for these opportunities for an entire cohort of students are among the most admirable people I know - Dr. Foster, Dr. Curry, and Dr. Ewing lead the Penn State Teach Ag program well. The Global Guides team of Dr. Foster, Dr. Miller Foster, Dr. McCubbins, Dr. Redwine, and my fellow interns Jess Spence and Josey Webb also made for a world-class group. The staff at the World Food Prize and NAAE who have put on these programs are also beyond deserving of gratitude - I count Jon Wogman, Cameron Earlywine, and Ashley Rogers at the top of that list. I am also thankful for a home in Lancaster to return to and for my Mom who has helped with laundry and food and airport runs more times than I can count...its often the things behind the scenes that make the biggest difference!

I also want to express thanks for the cohort of seven other future ag teachers who I stand beside in each of these experiences. To Celia, Emily J, Emily M, Mckenzie, Noah, Paige, and Seanna, I am grateful for you! This journey is not an easy one, yet I count myself a lucky man to have a group of people to journey with and learn alongside. This last week of the semester is a busy one for us - there is a lot of work to be done! For now, I'm off to the next task as I gear up for my final presentation. I will look forward to sharing more soon!