Honor the Texas Flag

Texas.

Oh, Texas.

I'm not going to lie to you, I was not 100% looking forward to Texas. I mean, let's be honest. What really is there to do when you are in Texas?

Those are the thoughts that were rushing through my head prior to traveling to Texas.

However, I am happy to say that throughout the week in Texas, my opinions changed. They changed so much that Texas may be on my list of potential states that I would like to teach in.

Now, I wasn't simply in Texas for the food, entertainment, and historical sights. I was there for the National Association of Agricultural Educators conference.

Throughout the week, I went to some incredible workshops, met some amazing people, and kindled new friendships that I never knew would exist.

Let's begin with the workshops:

• Classroom Inclusion 
• Relationship Building 
• Teacher Panel 
• Balance family with Ag. Ed. 
• What drives misconception of agriculture?
• Back to basics in modern day Ag Ed
• It's different for girls 
• Work-Life Balance
• Special Education in the Ag classroom 
• Trading Cards

These are just a few of the many workshops that I attended while at the NAAE conference. While I was attending NAAE as a student teacher, I was also involved with a program called FAST or Future AgriScience Teachers Symposium. Which leads me into the people. 

The amount of people that I encountered and was able to connect with was incredible! 

Just to name a few: 

• Dr. Jessica Jones (VA)
• Becky Haddad (OR)
• Holly (DE)
• Jessica Lumpkins (TN)
• Jordan Roy (GA)
• Dane White and Katie Titus (CA)
• Abigail Heikes (ID)

Each of these individuals have either made and impact on me due to their kind and caring hearts in regards to inclusion and diversity, or they were just genuinely kind and caring individuals that I was able to connect with on a personal level. 

At the end of the day, we were able to explore Texas and the city of San Antonio. Each day entailed something a little bit different. Most evenings were spent experiencing the unique food and culture. 

Some of the things we experienced and saw: 

• The Alamo
• El Mercado 
• Go Rio- Boat Ride on the River Walk 
• Laser Light show on the church
• Pearl Market

Throughout these experiences, I was able to connect with Lisa Boltz and Victoria Herr, two of the members in my cohort who are from the same side of the state, and within a county of where I grew up. Now, I had met both of these incredible ladies throughout my high school career, but once college began, I lost contact. As we all started our college careers at different campuses. Throughout the week in San Antonio, I was able to reconnect with those ladies and discover their individual strengths and how I can lean on them and them lean on me throughout this following semester and our lifelong careers. 

So, Thank you Texas! Thank you for allowing me to kindle new friendships, experience new things, try new foods, and above all, discover more about myself.