Not having grown up in agriculture, Caylee Lemmons from Keller, Texas, went from being the first in her family to join FFA, to an agricultural education major at Texas Tech University. She is currently completing her student teaching at Frenship ISD. Lemmons now shared what inspired her to become an agricultural educator, and the ups and downs of her experiential learning experience.  

Lemmons’s agriculture science teachers in high school influenced her to pursue an education degree at Texas Tech. She mentions that her FFA advisors were not only there to teach but were also significant role models for her.  

“They were some of the few people at my school who I felt I could go to and tell anything, and they would support me inside and out,” Lemmons said, “I decided if I was going to teach, I would be that role model for kids too.”  

Lemmons works with students who’s experience range in very little knowledge with agriculture, to strong agricultural backgrounds, she testifies the most rewarding part of teaching is getting to apply lessons she has planned and seeing the students be genuinely excited to learn. Lemmons prefers her teaching style to be hands-on and interactive, feeling as if the students are more engaged and capable of retaining the information they learn in the classroom with this approach.  

 “You can learn so much and feel so prepared, but there are still surprises along the way,” Lemmons said while summarizing her involvement so far as being a little hectic.

Lemmons mentioned how rewarding this experience was for her, and a great realization of how hard her agricultural educators work behind the scenes. She recalls being on the other side of the desk, and watching her agricultural science teachers work hard but never truly understanding how much they do that goes overlooked. 

“You really don’t know until you do it,” Lemmons said, “It has been a great experience, I feel like I have grown a lot and am much more prepared to become an educator later on.”  

Lemmons is passionate about the importance of educating youth on the aspects of agriculture. She explained how because she teaches such a wide variety of students, it’s interesting to see what surprises some students who aren’t as experienced with agriculture, be common sense for others who are familiar with the industry.  

“I think it is really important we continue to educate our youth on the basics of agriculture,” Lemmons states, “so they can become more accustomed to the industry, as it is a part of our everyday life.”  

The student teaching experience is a total of 16 weeks. Lemmons says this experience has given her a great glimpse into what is to come and is so thankful for the insight and knowledge this has given her.  

Lemmons plans on pursuing a graduate degree and receiving an agricultural communication degree. From there she intends on moving back home and finding a teaching job.  

Teachers do so much more than just educate. They guide, inspire, motivate, and believe in the success of their students. For Lemmons it took only one agricultural educator to propel her future career. With the knowledge she has gained from this experiential learning experience she hopes to be that for her students too.