SAE Visit #1

Not every student teacher has the ability to visit a state star winner for one of their first SAE visits. Ever since I saw her win that award at Mid-Winter convention on my very first day, I knew that I had to check it out. This student has two SAE projects that make up her overall program, one at a diary cattle farm, and one on a diary goat farm. I choose the latter, and visited with Mr Turner.

There were no real preparations needed besides scheduling the visit. For a progressing visit, a check of AET would have been done. SAEs at Central are counted as a half credit per year on the students report card, and graded on a pass/fail basis. If record books are up to date, things are going smooth, and the supervisor has positive remarks, there is no reason that the students should not pass. It helped this student's case that when we walked in, her employer immediately said "I don't know if it means much from me, but I think she deserves and "A". I would agree State star award in placement, or not, she had an impressive set of records. Not the largest as far as numbers go, but she spends more time working (and working hard) than others her age, and it was nice to see her get recognition for it.

To wrap up, there was not much in the way of improvement to be recommended. A few months from graduation, she was an SAE success story. Our conversations shifted more towards her post-graduation plans. She wants to work for a farm managing livestock, and will do so full-time at the dairy where she has her other project. She will not pursue further certifications, but I would feel comfortable with this. She has the skill set required and her best opportunity for growth is on the job. We talked about ways she could make sure that she continues to grow as a professional in the industry. I wish her the best of luck in the future.