What do you love most about being an ag teacher? I love the opportunity to help my students find their passion for agriculture and getting to see them grow into successful young men and women who advocate for agriculture. 

What is your biggest challenge as an ag teacher? Time management. As a young teacher you can feel the pressure of always having to do your best at everything you do. I know I did and sometimes still do, which makes it difficult to find the balance between being a good teacher, supporting my students, being active in the community, being there for my family, and having time for myself. I have to remind myself that I’m not perfect and that some days things will not work out the way they were planned and that is okay. At the end of the day if I gave my best effort and accomplished what I needed to do, I consider that a successful day.

What have you learned thus far in your teaching career that you wish you would have known when you first began teaching? That I need to not compare myself to teachers in their 10th, 20th, or 30th year of teaching. This seems very obvious, but to first year me it was difficult to not compare and push myself to do more and be more like the teachers I grew up admiring. I was trying to compare what I could accomplish as a first year teacher to what these veteran teachers have accomplished over their entire career. It’s okay to set goals and work towards them, but remember to make your goals realistic and attainable. Someday I hope to be as successful as the amazing teachers I look up to and now get to work with, but I now understand that it’ll take time and patience for me to get there. 

What advice would you give a novice teacher entering this profession now? Find and set boundaries that work for you. As a novice teacher entering this profession you need to find your balance between your work life and personal life.  I know it is easier said than done, but definitely something that is very important if you are planning to stay in this profession for the long haul. I say this because of all the teacher burnout we see today, yes you should strive to be the best teacher you can be but you also need to make sure you still enjoy showing up to work everyday. Don’t take work home with you, I promise it will still be there tomorrow when you get back. If something has to get done after school, ask for help from your students and/or community members. 

What personal qualities or abilities do you think are important to being successful in this profession? Being adaptable and remembering your “why”. If the last two years have taught me something, it is that we have to be adaptable because we cannot know what the future holds. We have to be willing to learn new things and find new ways to do and teach things in and out of the classroom. It may be scary and frustrating but if we remember our “why” the challenge of finding new ways to do things seems small in comparison. My students have always been part of my “why” of teaching agriculture, they are the reason I challenge myself to try out new lessons and labs. They make teaching exciting for me, they make me want to be a better teacher for them. I got into this profession because I wanted to share my love for agriculture and mechanics. My students are my daily reminder for why I show up even on the tough days.

What most prepared you for being an agriculture educator? Making connections with mentors and having open conversations with them. I remember meeting some of my mentors when I was a fourteen year old high schooler competing in the Ag Mechanics contest. I had been looking up to them for years before it was time for me to start student teaching. When it came time for me to start student teaching it was a little intimidating for me to reach out to them and ask questions or ask for help. At least that’s what I thought until I got invited to have breakfast with them at my first field day. At that breakfast I came to realize that these individuals were rooting for me to be successful and were more than willing to help me, all I had to do was reach out and ask. Looking back I realize I always had these amazing teachers as resources, I pushed aside my fear of being judged for not knowing something and started developing relationships with my future colleagues. It is not easy to put yourself out there and admit you don’t know everything, but luckily we are a part of a pretty amazing profession that is full of individuals that are willing to share their knowledge and help you be successful. So make sure to get out there and start developing those relationships, and remember that it’s okay to talk about other things than just work. After all we’re all human at the end of the day and you may have more things in common than you think. 

If you could relive one of your most memorable days as a teacher, which day would it be and why? To pick just one would be almost impossible. As I thought of how to answer this question there were so many fond memories and great examples of some of the best days I have had as a teacher. One of those days would be getting to see my first group of graduating seniors. Getting to see the students I met as squirrely impressionable young freshmen grow up to be successful contributing members of our community has become one of my favorite things to experience as a teacher. Having these students call me or stop by my classroom to share exciting news about what they are learning about at school or what they are getting to do at work is one of the best feelings. Knowing that my students feel comfortable coming back into my classroom or giving me a call to share exciting news will always make that day a memorable one for me. They know that even after they leave my classroom, they will always be my kids.

Describe ag teaching in one to two words.   Limitless.