ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC) is excited to announce its newest group of Agricultural Education interns! Seven students majoring in Agricultural Education at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, South Dakota State University, and California State University-Fresno with an interest in teaching agricultural education in Minnesota have been selected and paired with current Minnesota agriculture teachers for the summer.

MAELC is pleased to work with the following interns and their supervising teachers this summer:

Intern                                                 Supervising Teacher                         High School(s)

Anna Buckentine                                  Ethan Dado / Nathan Hanel                  Mankato / Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Dana Hedberg                                       Lisa Orren                                          Redwood Valley
South Dakota State University 

Tiara Malakowsky                                 Lindsey Brockberg                               Mountain Lake
University of Minnesota-Crookston

Taylor Peck                                          Mary Hoffmann                                    Sleepy Eye
South Dakota State University

Elizabeth Risacher                               Stephanie Brandt                                  Sibley East
South Dakota State University 

Cassandra Valdez                                Stacy Fritz                                           Chatfield
California State University-Fresno

Savanna Weber                                    Abbie Savage                                      Ada-Borup
University of Minnesota-Crookston

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

The purpose of the Agricultural Education Internship is to spark an interest in current undergraduate students to consider entering the teaching profession and to provide hands-on experience as an agriculture teacher. A 2020 intern stated, “I’ve learned so much about what a successful summer Agricultural Education program can look like, and am excited to use it in the future! A few years from now, I hope to be working with my own Agricultural Education program as a full-time teacher.”

The experience will focus on summer programming, such as Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) visits, curriculum development, community events, and FFA leadership trainings. One week will also be spent at the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators (MAAE) summer conference, providing opportunities for professional development and networking.

This internship was made possible by generous donations from AgriBank, AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Christensen Farms, CHS Foundation, Compeer Financial, and MAELC.

MAELC is a 16-member legislative council that provides leadership to promote and expand agricultural education in Minnesota. The state legislature, agricultural educators, and agriculture industry leaders are all represented on the council.

— Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council

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