The Change to Ag Ed
I have just finished my first semester at Penn State University Park! Actually... my first semester at Penn State... Ever!
Krista and Cows
My PSU Ag Ed journey definitely doesn't follow the same milestones that many others do. I was exposed to agriculture at a very young age; my parents met at a local dairy farm just two miles where I currently live. My dad eventually went to college before I was even in the picture, but my mom worked at the dairy until I was 11 or12 years old. My mom and dad separated around 2006, so I had spent a lot of weekends at the dairy feeding and playing calves, hanging out with the big cows, and just roaming around the farm helping how I could. I always looked forward to the weekends that I got to tag along to work with my mom. I thought that the dairy life was awesome: I got to play with cows, so what was not to like?
Hanging out at the dairy with Maggie! This picture is from 2010. Maggie was a farm favorite; she had around 10-12 calves in her life and was 17 when she died!
My mom, on the other hand, was a single mom working hard for my sister and I. We definitely didn't grow up with the most glamorous things: a single-wide trailer, a Salvation Army wardrobe, and a stock tank swimming pool (I actually just found out that my "pool" was, in fact, a used stock tank. It just adds to the experience). Honestly, I wouldn't wish to have grown up any other way.
From High School to IUP
High school was a different story; my mom and dad had both since remarried, I was spending my free time working at a dairy and I had horses (something that younger me could've only dreamed of). I spent a lot of time working at Irishtown Acres in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Though my love for agriculture was born at the small dairy my mom worked at, it grew exponentially at Irishtown Acres. The dairy milked around 500 cows that were exclusively Jersey cattle (which I LOVE). My boss even started a small beef herd within the last 2 years. I was milking or feeding calves every day when sports weren't in session, and on weekends I would work both the morning and evening shifts as well as milking before school once a week. I loved it- and I loved telling others about it.
Milking with two of my friends on Christmas morning in 2018!
I'd like to bring some attention to my last sentence: "I loved it- and I loved telling others about it."
My love for agriculture was apparent to everyone else, but I wasn't completely aware of it. My senior year of high school I had decided I was going to attend the Indiana University if Pennsylvania (IUP) for Secondary Biology Education. It felt weird to make a decision that felt so permanent, but my best friend (since birth) and I were going to be college roommates, so I was pretty pumped. I was super excited to be a biology teacher after I graduate.
I went to IUP for two years- half of which was virtual. I made some of the best friends I could have ever met and I really miss seeing them every day. They were with me through my quarter-life-crisis of wether or not to transfer to PSU. I really hated to leave them and I know they didn't want to see me leave, but I learned that I was not going to be able to teach high schoolers about mitosis and meiosis for the rest of my life. They understood that I was unhappy at IUP and are rooting me on during my journey at PSU. I still visit them a lot and see them as much as I can during the summer months, too.
Change? Don't Know Her
I think the wildest part of my Ag Ed journey is that I never took a high school agriculture class a day in my life. My high school never offered it, so I never had any of the opportunities that school-based Ag Ed or FFA offered. Because I was never exposed to Ag Ed, FFA, or any other school-based Ag Ed (SBAE) programs, I never knew that I wanted to be an Ag teacher. I thought that biology was the closest that I could get to agriculture in school, so I opted to teach biology instead. That was short lived, though, and I realized biology education wasn't the career for me. It has honestly been a little discouraging knowing that I am different than most Ag Ed students from never taking any SBAE classes. An Ag teacher and FFA advisor that teaches in Linesville, PA, Mrs. Palmer, has been very helpful and encouraging because she also had an absence of SBAE and FFA when she was in high school. She has been great to talk to about how we became involved in agriculture and what (and who) inspired us to become Ag teachers. Good teachers can change lives.
I gave some insight to how I am where I am today, but I never shared why I am where I am today (Penn State, that is). One of the biggest driving factors that pushed me to come to PSU halfway through a different degree was actually a teacher. Not a teacher from my school though... and not even an Ag teacher! My good friend, Darla, is an accounting/keyboarding teacher that also teaches in Linesville. We both volunteer at the same youth camp in the spring, summer, and fall and often get to talking about agriculture and good teachers. Darla and I have known each other since 2010ish and got to watch me grow up during the summer months at Deep Valley Christian Service Camp. She has been one of my greatest mentors in my life this far; I treasure every conversation I get to have with her. I'll never forget my favorite conversation from November 2020. We were talking about cows (as usual) and she stopped, looked at me, and said, "I can't believe you aren't studying Ag Ed at Penn State". I remember looking back at her and laughing it off, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Two months later I applied to PSU. Three weeks later I was accepted and decided to transfer. That was one of the hardest, but best decisions I have ever made.
Abundantly Blessed
Penn State has treated me very well this past semester. I have made some really great friends, both in my program as well as in other agricultural programs, found a job I love (milking cows, obviously), and got more involved on campus than I could have imagined. I was also able to become a part of an off-campus small group through Cedar Heights Church. I love being a part of a community who meets to strengthen their relationships with each other, but primarily their relationships with Christ. If you know me, you'll also know I'm a big horse-girl. Always have been, and I always will be. Through Penn State I am able to show horses on a collegiate level through IHSA (Intercollegiate Horse Show Association)! I have also been able to get involved in other clubs like LEAD Society and Block and Bridle, and be a part of a launch program called GOALs (Global Opportunity for Agricultural Learning). Through GOALs I was given the opportunity to attend the World Food Prize and will soon be taking a spring break teaching immersion trip to Kalispell, Montana with my friend Mckenzie. The GOALs crew also slept on the floor of the Philadelphia airport together, but that's a story for another time.
For someone who hates change and making decisions, this was all absolutely terrifying- I'm not going to lie. My PSU Ag Ed journey is anything but typical, but I'm super excited for the next year and a half. I owe a huge thank you to all those who have rooted me on throughout my life- you all are the reason I'm here.
With that being said, thanks for reading! I hope you stick around for more posts to follow :)
Until next time,
Krista Mathias
P.S.
Please enjoy these cows until my next blog:)
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