Contrary to popular belief, my Bachelor's of Science is actually in Agricultural Education and Environmental Science. When I transferred from UNC Chapel Hill to A&T, I first switched my major to Agricultural Engineering, hence the heavy emphasis on Physics, Advanced Math, and even Computer Programming. I had taken and excelled in Computer Programming in high school, having taken C++ and HTML Coding courses at Weaver Education Center, although my "C" in GEEN 102 (General Engineering) did not reflect my proficiency lol. I remember that I had leased my first big girl apartment and was working 2 jobs that semester. I'd only lived on campus once throughout my entire academic career, and that was in Hinton James dormitory on UNC's campus. Oh, what fun I had. Yes, I'm being both truthful and sarcastic. It's a wonder how I even got the satisfactory grades that I did make during my first years of college lol. No, but seriously - I'm human - EXTRAORDINARY but still yet regular. And I wouldn't change anything about my undergrad college experiences; it was everything!

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So, back to the switch to engineering. If you're unaware, Wetland Science is generally taught from the scope of constructed wetlands, as opposed to conservation of naturally occurring wetlands (of course, my goal is to change that). Construction, of course, entails engineering, and this was the primary reason for my switch. However, after realizing that the courses in the Applied Sciences like Soil, Animal and Plant Science, Geology, Botany, Soil Fertility, Biochemistry, Biology, and Ecology/Conservation wouldn't directly apply to the engineering program, I had to switch majors again. After much contemplation, the best program through which I could curate my intended interdisciplinary skillset was Agricultural Education with a minor in Environmental Science. And my engineering coursework wouldn't be in vain, because now I also had a working knowledge of the engineering aspect of Wetland Science. Now, I was on my zoom. And my contentedness with the direction of my program reflected directly in my grades. I know you see that consistent Dean's List status to the left lol.

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Of course, most of you know, at least, some of this story - I graduated with my Bachelor's of Science in May 1998, Magna Cum Laude. During my undergrad program, I was inducted in Golden Key Honor Society, Gamma Sigma Delta (the Honor Society of Agriculture), Alpha Tau Alpha Honor Society (the Honor Society of Agricultural Education), and named Who's Who Amongst College Students. I was elected as Ms. Alpha Tau Alpha, and by Ms. NCA&TSU's court as Ms. Aggie Q.U.E.E.N.S., a youth female mentorship organization founded by the Ms. NCA&TSU. I served as a student liaison for Chancellor Fort's annual Greensboro/A&T Four commemoration events and Black Farmers advocacy programs. I was a member of the elite E. Gwynn Dancers and Golden Delight. I was a lead choreographer for Verge and Contour, the nationally renown campus modeling troupes (most know them to be rivals but I was Sweden lol). To say I was active is an understatement. Nothing, however, fulfilled me more than teaching. They say teaching is mostly a thankless job, so if you teach, then you have to love what you do. And I did. As is required for degree programs in education, I had to student teach. My assignment was at Southern Guilford High School. They have a Agriscience/Agriculture Department, and thus I was a perfect fit. I remember that we took the students to the annual NC (Agricultural) Fair in Raleigh that takes place every Fall season. It wasn't my first time going. As I've shared, my parents filled my childhood with lots of adventures, but it was my first time going in a "grown up" capacity as a TEACHER. Obviously, I wasn't much older than my students, but getting the opportunity to further inspire future Scientists as their teacher was no less a full circle moment as to the academic and professionals goals I'd set. I truly enjoyed student teaching at Southern Guilford, and still to this very day, I often run into my former students who still recognize me, as do I also recognize them. And they don't run the other way when they see me, nor otherwise ignore me, so a win is a win, especially when most students find interactions with their former teachers in real life to be mostly cringe.

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​Before this point, I only really knew about teaching in traditional classrooms. I'd not ever heard of extension agents, nor the Cooperative Extension Service. Neither had I ever heard of andragogy. For my final semester in undergrad, I was also required to "teach" adults in that Agriculture is a function thereof. Unlike, but still yet similar to teaching students in a traditional classroom, this time, I taught vocational agricultural education to home gardeners and farmers as an intern under the renown career Guilford County Extension Agent/Director Karen Neill. We facilitated classes mostly at night, as opposed to regular daytime school hours, and I had students as wise as 80 years of age (Oh I know better than to even give the appearance of ageism lmao). What impressed me most is their equally zealous desire to learn. Some of you may think that I'm over-exaggerating, but I'm not. You see, I later realized that my students, albeit youth or adults, were so engaged because the subject matter of Agriculture was NOT required, and instead electively sought, and accordingly, my students wanted to learn. Unlike teachers in most other subject matter, I didn't have to toil to get my students excited and ready to learn, because they had enrolled in my courses ON PURPOSE ... SEEKING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AGRICULTURE. I caught the bug, and I was locked in. My interdisciplinary academia and experience allowed me to teach using associative learning methodologies. You see, I knew the complexities and intricacies of a myriad of types of Applied Sciences under the umbrella of Agriculture, and thereby overstood how to explain it to others in a simple manner that could be apprehended and retained with great ease. My students were afforded not only the what, rather also the why and how, and the payoff was more people, both young and wise, who adopted an increased valuation of our natural resources and environmental systems. After all, need I repeat that I've undergone all of my learning BECAUSE I LOVE ETHICAL SCIENCE.

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Of course, during my PhD program, as is common, I also held a TA position, and taught mostly lab in Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. And at the collegiate level, more often students are taking classes core to their program of interest, so they want to be there and learn, too. That has definitely been amongst the greatest pro's in choosing Agriculture, and STEM generally, for the focus of my career.​

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On a side note, while typing this, I realized I have no photographs of me in my lab coat or waders. And taking a pic just for this would be cringe, so I hope you don't mind. Because I'm on all the socials, I shall be more mindful to capture notable moments and share them here in the future.

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My nearly 3 decades (sheesh did I type that aloud smh) of teaching is now to your benefit in that as a consultant, as well, in Environmental Sustainability and Collaborative Applied Science, I can best inform policy-making and strategic implementation for city/county government operations, which is imperative for the seat of Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor and, arguably, for all elected seats in city/county government.

 

I just need your vote.  ​​