Who I am and Where I'm at
I was raised outside. Camping, hiking, biking, rolling around in the dirt, looking for salamanders, and gardening were all a major part of my childhood. My appreciation for the outdoors began when I was young but has continued to grow through the activities and communities I involve myself in.
I grew up going to Shaver’s Creek Summer Camp where we hiked around in the rain and jumped in mud puddles, learning to appreciate the environment surrounding us. Throughout high school, I volunteered as an assistant counselor where I learned that I could facilitate the connection between kids and the outdoors as my profession.
Photos from 2009: Hiking, gardening, creek stomping
At Penn State, I am majoring in Agricultural and Extension Education and minoring in Entomology, Biology, and International Agriculture. I chose this education path to hopefully give me a broad platform to pull from when teaching about the intersection between agriculture and the environment. As much as I want to bring the importance of agriculture into everything I teach, I also want to bring the importance of environmental sustainability into educating as well.
In October, 2021, I was fortunate to attend the World Food Prize and meet the 2021 laureate as well as past laureates. At this event, I was able to learn from people from all over the world with different professional and educational backgrounds, working towards the same goal of figuring out how to feed everyone on the planet sustainably. This event helped me realize the importance of teaching agriculture as a component of everything else, since it is linked to every aspect of life, and thus, should be linked to every aspect of education.
Photos from 2021: At the Hall of Laureates and meeting Jan Low
During the spring 2022 semester, I participated in the SEED (Student Engagement and Experiential Discovery) Semester at Shaver’s Creek. One aspect of the semester was learning how to integrate environmental education into every field of education, specifically with place based education, focusing on the environment right around you. This experience gave me the tools to create well-rounded lessons, translating to well-rounded students in the future.
Outside of classes, I am the secretary of the Penn State Beekeeping Club. I found this club accidentally, but quickly learned that it is the perfect combination of agriculture, education, and entomology. I am also a volunteer at the Frost Entomological Museum on Penn State’s campus. For the past six months, I have been helping to rehouse parts of the insect collection. It has been neat to be involved within an informal education center to see how it can differ from formal education as well as what can be transferred between both and how they can work together to build a strong method of education.
In my free time, of many hobbies, I love gardening and sewing. I think it is fascinating to know where your food is coming from and to be able to produce much of it in your backyard. I also enjoy learning about fiber art, both knitting and sewing, and learning about the processes that start on the sheep and end in a ball of yarn or woven sheet of wool.
Photos from 2021: Jacket I made from piecing together quilt squares purchased second hand.
I am excited to see where my path takes me through opportunities at Penn State, student teaching, and to careers in the future.
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