Emily Wamsley, agricultural educator at Elma High School, was one of a select group of agriculture teachers nationwide who received the 2016 Teachers Turn the Key professional development scholarship from the National Association of Agricultural Educators.

As a scholarship recipient, Wamsley attended the NAAE annual convention in Las Vegas, Nov. 29-Dec. 3.

The Teachers Turn the Key scholarship brings together agricultural educators with four or fewer years of experience and immerses them in three days of professional development that addresses issues specific to the early years of teaching agriculture. Participants also have the opportunity to become involved in NAAE leadership and network with other NAAE convention attendees. TTTK awardees come away from the experience with a long-lasting peer cohort and tools that will help them have successful careers as agricultural educators.

Wamsley works in a three-person agriculture education team to provide students with well-rounded classroom and Supervised Agricultural Experience opportunities. SAEs are independent projects related to agriculture designed to connect classroom learning to real world experience. Her curriculum is largely lab-based and hands on, tied directly to agriculture careers and life skills such as running a floral design business, landscaping, and caring for livestock.

Community involvement through partnerships and community service make an impact on the Elma FFA program. Students organize food drives, 5K and 10K runs, bingo nights, and sporting tournaments to garner resources they then donate to Elma and two surrounding communities. Local businesses and organizations support the program by providing feedback to FFA teams preparing for competition or by making it possible for students to attend Legislative Days at the Capital.

“What makes agriculture education such a rewarding career is that every lesson taught has meaning to students in some way,” Wamsley said. “Students are able to explore sciences in multiple fields while gaining applicable skills and knowledge. I hope that by teaching students in a way that they can relate to, they will carry that knowledge with them for the rest of their lives and hopefully inspire them to continue into a career in agriculture or at least educate others in agriculture.”

In addition to attending professional development, each of the TTTK scholarship recipients also were recognized at a general session during the NAAE convention. RAM Trucks sponsors the TTTK program as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

NAAE is the professional organization in the United States for agricultural educators. It provides its more than 8,000 members with professional networking and development opportunities, professional liability coverage, and extensive awards and recognition programs. The mission of NAAE is “professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service.” The NAAE headquarters are in Lexington, Ky.