NAAE 2016: A Great Week of Networking

One week in Vegas with agricultural educators from all around the country! How much better can it get? Sure the night lights of Las Vegas are fascinating for a college senior who has never been that far west, but this trip was so much more than exploring Vegas with friends. This trip served as a great networking experience with not only experienced teachers but also with student teachers similar in age to myself.

FAST (Future Agricultural Teacher Symposium)

I was given the privilege of participating in this week long teacher "boot camp" if you will. This provided us with hands on inquiry based demonstrations that put us in the students shoes. These activities are great for me at this point because I can implement them right away in my own classroom. I was also great to meet other student teachers from all over the country. My cohort members and I made friends with a group of students from Idaho for example. It was extremely exciting to hear about agriculture and agricultural education in a state so distant. These are great friends that I will keep in touch with and bounce ideas off in the future.

Networking with PA Ag Ed

I had a great time with the agricultural educators from my home state discussing their past experiences, asking questions, and just hanging out. We truly have a great group who are open to any questions and provide a ton of support. Over the past year and a half I have had the privilege of meeting many of them. However, you don't truly know them until everyone spends a week in Vegas together. This experience has helped me to communicate on a professional level and sparked new questions about the profession.

Final Thoughts

My experience at this years NAAE Convention was very inspiring. The stories that were shared through our FAST symposium speakers helped to remind me why I wanted to be a teacher. Its about the students. The workshops I participated in, outside of the symposium, were extremely beneficial to me. I was presented resources that I never even knew existed, such as the Discover Dairy program from the Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania. I found this program very interesting and beneficial for intro level Ag students. I would love to incorporate this into my future classroom. This was a great experience filled with new resources and new friends. It is so important that we continue professional development throughout our careers. We owe it to our students plus it's fun! Seems like a no-brainer to me!