MAELC Announces Agricultural Education Interns for Summer Program

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

The Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC) is excited to introduce its latest cohort of Agricultural Education interns. Four undergraduate students pursuing Agricultural Education degrees at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and North Dakota State University have been selected to participate in a summer internship program. These interns, who have a keen interest in teaching agricultural education in Minnesota, will be paired with experienced Minnesota agriculture teachers.

MAELC is proud to collaborate with the following interns and their supervising teachers during the summer program:

1. McKayla Carlson-Hughes: Supervising Teacher - Mary Hoffmann; School - Sleepy Eye; North Dakota State University

2. Karli Knopf: Supervising Teachers - Eric Sawatzke & Ben Johnson; School - West Central Area; University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

3. Amara Livingston: Supervising Teacher - Joe Ramstad; School - Rockford; University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

4. Laney Swiers: Supervising Teacher - Stacy Fritz; School - Chatfield; University of Minnesota-Crookston

Paul Aarsvold, an agriculture teacher at Plainview-Elgin-Millville, will serve as the program coordinator for the internship.

The Agricultural Education Internship aims to inspire undergraduate students to consider a career in teaching and provide them with hands-on experience as agriculture teachers. Previous interns have expressed their gratitude for the program, citing it as a motivating factor in their educational journey towards becoming agriculture teachers.

Interns participate in summer programming activities, including SAE visits, curriculum development, community events, and FFA leadership training. They attend MAAE conferences, Minnesota FFA conferences, workshops, and tours of local programs.

This internship program has been made possible through the generous support of AgCountry Farm Credit Services, CHS Foundation, Christensen Farms, Compeer Financial, and MAELC, whose contributions have enabled valuable educational experiences for aspiring agriculture teachers.