A New Start

Ever since I was born, I've loved fresh starts. Whether celebrating a new year on the calendar, starting a  new grade in school, or cheering on a new Philly/PSU sports team season with undefeated records, the idea of starting new things has been something I've loved for as long as I can remember. I think in some ways it is human nature to like a fresh start, but I guess you could say I've been wired to appreciate it even more than most. While some of this love for new beginnings may come from a sense of perfectionism, I've learned a lot over my 23 years about how to keep going even when you take the first loss or it doesn't all go the way you might have hoped. 

It has been a busy (almost) two months since the end of student teaching. Between graduating from Penn State and saying goodbye to State College, my sister and brother-in-law getting married!, and a trip to Kansas for the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) annual conference, it has been a full stretch with some quality rest mixed in too. It's been a season of significant change for me, and while life looks a lot different than it did two months ago, I'm grateful and excited to be where I'm at. 

Following graduation from PSU, I faced a big - and at times - tough decision regarding what came next. I'm fortunate that I enjoy doing a lot of different things (and college has a nice way of letting you do a lot of those things at once!). However, a downside to this is that it can make it hard to commit to one specific aspect in the next phase of life. As I wrestled with opportunities including graduate school, global development work, agricultural education, and more, I had a good team in my corner. Many of you who may read this supported and encouraged me, prayed for me, and simply made a difference in my life as I made this decision, and I'm excited to share that I have some direction on where I'm headed next :).

I'm excited to share that I've accepted an offer with the School District of Lancaster and will be teaching at McCaskey High School in Lancaster City, PA starting this fall. I will be teaching environmental science focused courses, specifically AP Environmental Science and IB Environmental Systems and Societies. AP Environmental Science was one of my favorite courses in high school, and the more I learn about IB courses the more excited I get to teach them!

Those who know me well know how big of a role agricultural education has played in my life, and one of the pieces that I'm most excited about is the chance to continue that work. A big part of my work over the next year in addition to teaching will be working towards developing a new agricultural education program at McCaskey. While I have a great deal to learn and there are many details to work through, the goal is to work over the next year to explore and build the foundations for an agricultural education program in the school years ahead.

The opportunity to start a new agricultural education program feels like a dream come true in many ways. The prospect of building an urban ag program is one that is especially close to my heart following my undergraduate thesis work examining agricultural education in environments often characterized as low-resource by examining the perspectives of teachers in Nepal. An urban high school with ~ 2,600 students in grades 9-12 is far different from where I grew up or student taught, but I can't help but smile when I think of the tremendous opportunities inspired by the incredible things I've observed first-hand as I've gotten to know the school. While agriculture may be new to the School District of Lancaster, Career and Technical Education (CTE) is not, and I'm excited to hopefully join six other approved CTE programs at the high school.

Among many other things, I hope that this program will make a positive difference in the lives of students and the Lancaster city community. I'm a firm believer that if we truly hope to accomplish food security for all people, then all people need to be involved and included in agriculture. It is also my sincere hope that one day this program may be used to help bridge some of the rural-urban divide between all those who call "Lancaster" home. FFA allowed me to meet people from across Pennsylvania and the United States who I never would have otherwise met, and I'd love it if one day this opportunity can offer the same opportunity for students of my own.

At a time with a severe shortage of agricultural educators and many existing programs still looking for teachers, one could ask "why start a new program, especially in an urban setting?". However, this opportunity is one that has been laid on my heart from the very earliest conversations, and all ag programs we now have were new at one time. I'm grateful that leaders long before me took the opportunity to start a new program at Garden Spot High School where I got my own ag education, and I'd hope that one day students might say the same about an ag program at McCaskey that was innovative and painted a new picture of what agricultural education can look like. 

My faith has played a key role in this process from the very beginning. In many ways, there were many other options that made a lot more sense "on paper", but this process has taught me that it isn't always what is "on the paper" that counts. At the times when I've had - and still have! - the most doubt or worry how the pieces will come together, I'm reminded of Ephesians 3:20 - "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us...". We're not promised that it will be easy or always end up how we hope, but we are promised that God can work things out far differently and far better than I ever could have. I'm grateful for that!

I plan to continue using this blog as a way to share updates from Lancaster as I continue along this journey. I'm excited to start life as a Red Tornado and to be back in the area that I've called home for most of my life. I'm a blessed man to have this chance to build something new while working alongside an incredible team of educators and students, and I can't wait to get to work. If you're involved with environmental science/agriculture in Lancaster (or just want to learn more), give me a shout! I'd love to connect with you as we work to build something awesome. Thanks to those who have stood with me at every step of the way - I would not be here without you.