Agricultural educators in Nebraska are asked to wear many different hats right at the start of their careers, including being well-versed in diverse agricultural, food, and natural resource fields. To help Nebraska’s young agricultural educators feel more comfortable and confident in their skills, the Nebraska FFA Foundation provides scholarships for beginning teachers to attend trainings that strengthen their skills in various agricultural pathways.
Megan Skibinksi, agricultural educator and FFA Advisor at Arcadia, attended a three-day woodworking workshop in Randolph, Nebraska. Craig Flaming, an experienced agricultural educator in Nebraska, instructed this workshop. At the workshop, Skibinksi had the opportunity to work through woods course materials, have hands-on experiences in the woods lab, and converse with fellow agriculture teachers in Nebraska. She is most thankful for the opportunity to learn more about wood safety and troubleshooting in the wood shop because she wasn’t overly familiar with all of the wood shop machines before the workshop. Skibinski said she learned more than she ever expected to and now looks forward to working with her students in the wood shop this school year.
Regan Hodsden, agricultural educator and FFA advisor at Scottsbluff, completed a Welding Ag Teacher Bootcamp training at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska. As Hodsden prepared to teach welding before this school year, she was feeling nervous about her welding skills. But, at this training, Hodsden was able to refresh her knowledge and skills in MIG, TIG, SMAW, and Oxy-Acetylene welding, and learn a few activities that she will now implement in her classroom. “The professional development session I attended was extremely useful in preparing me to teach welding classes in the upcoming school year. This course provided a valuable refresher and increased my confidence in teaching the material,” shared Hodsden.
Both teachers noted that one of the most beneficial aspects of their training experience was the opportunity to connect and collaborate with other agricultural educators. “We were able to share ideas on what works and what doesn’t work in their shops, and what I could implement.
I was then able to bring back these insights to my co-teacher,” recalled Hodsden. Finding a support system is extremely important for agricultural educators, especially at the start of their careers. Professional development trainings like these provide great opportunities for the creation of such communities of support.
The Nebraska FFA Foundation is committed to creating professional development opportunities for Nebraska’s agricultural educators. Scholarships Skibinski and Hodsden received to attend these workshops were funded by the Patterson Foundation and Farm Credit Services of America and were administered by the Nebraska FFA Foundation.
