The first-place parliamentary procedure team, left to right: Emily Herness, Jared Mack, Hannah Eckblad, Jennifer Herman, Morgan Frank.

Teams fare well at National Ag Education Competition

November 2, 2018 – Teams from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls won three of the six collegiate agricultural education contests held in conjunction with the National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, Ind., October 24-27.

Hannah Eckblad of Goodhue, Minn., Jennifer Herman of Lake Geneva, and Racheal Krug of Medford took first place in the essay contest with their response to the question, “How can agricultural education preparation programs help shape the agriculture teacher profession in ways to help alleviate burnout and loss of teachers to other careers?”

The issue for the debate competition was: agriculture teacher education programs (programs of study, assessments) should be aligned and standardized to ensure future agricultural educators receive the same preparation. Team members debated both sides of the issue in separate contests. The UW-River Falls team consisting of Tia Gunderson of Oconomowoc, Jenelle Larsen of Centuria, Kelly Susa of Hayward, and Jacob Timm of Gillett took first place in the competition.

Eckblad and Herman, along with Morgan Frank of Waverly, Minn., Emily Herness of Whitehall, and Jared Mack of Merrimac took top honors in the parliamentary procedure contest. Eckblad received the top individual score on the written exam portion of the contest.

Twenty students from across the country are selected each year to receive a National Association of Agricultural Educators Upper Division Scholarship. This year, three were from UW-River Falls. Eckblad, Herman and Susa each received one of the $1,500 scholarships to help offset expenses during their upcoming student teaching experience.

For more information, email laura.walsh@uwrf.edu or call 715-425-3535.