FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ezabela Herber
January 16th, 2023 Shattuck FFA Reporter
(580) 938-0346
SHATTUCK HOSTS TWO AG ED STUDENT TEACHERS
By Ezabela Herber
SHATTUCK, OKLAHOMA - Two Agriculture Education student teachers will spend their semester at Shattuck High School. Ms. Katie Bauman and Mr. Kaleb Townsend came to Shattuck last semester to visit after a recommendation of the Shattuck Ag program by Dr. Mindi Clark and Mr. Jack Staats of NWOSU. They both decided that Shattuck was a right fit for them, and began their student teaching journey at the start of the spring semester.
Ms. Katie Bauman of Nowata is a graduate of Oklahoma Union High School in Eastern Oklahoma. She’s the first in her family to pursue a degree in education, as her parents own and operate a full service auto mechanic shop, Nowata Automotive Service. When asked what inspired her to become an ag teacher, Ms. Bauman said, “I saw the impact an ag ed program can have on a community, growing up in such an agriculture based area. I wanted to have that impact on students.” While involved in her own FFA program, Ms. Bauman competed in public speaking, Livestock and Dairy Cattle Judging, and Cattle Grading. After meeting some of the NWOSU staff and learning about their Ag Ed program, she decided to move to Alva for college. Bauman said, “I hope to stay in Northwest Oklahoma to teach after graduation. I really like the community support that you see in the towns in this area.”
Mr. Kaleb Townsend graduated from Woodward High School, so he finds himself not too far from home for his student teaching semester. When Mr. Townsend left high school, he entered the workforce, taking a job in the oilfield, where he worked for several years. However, when the oil industry virtually came to a halt in 2020, he decided to return to college to pursue his passion for ag education. When asked why he wanted to be an ag teacher, he said, “I wanted to give back to a program that taught me so much. Ag curriculum teaches so many life skills that every student needs to learn. The things I learned in my ag program inspired my future career.” It was an easy choice for him to attend NWOSU when he learned that one of his life-long mentors, and former State FFA Advisor,Jack Staats, had joined the ag department at Alva. Growing up, Mr. Townsend showed both pigs and cattle, and when he joined the FFA he became passionate about livestock and meats judging. He also participated in public speaking contests. Although he’d like to stay in Northwest Oklahoma to teach, he is open to relocating within Oklahoma, as long as he can be in the classroom, educating the future of ag.
Shattuck FFA is excited to welcome Ms. Bauman and Mr. Townsend, and look forward to a busy spring semester.
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