By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Four college students majoring in agricultural education were awarded the Spring 2025 Mia Balko Student Teaching Scholarship from Texas Farm Bureau (TFB).

The scholarship recipients include:

  • Preston Casey, West Texas A&M University;
  • Jena Dangelmayr, Tarleton State University;
  • Kassidy Langley, West Texas A&M University and
  • Karlie Lowe, East Texas A&M University.

The scholarships, valued at $6,000, aim to aid students in covering expenses during their semester of off-campus student teaching.

“These four college seniors are passionate about teaching agriculture,” McKenna Bush, TFB Youth Outreach coordinator, said. “With much of their time devoted to students and schoolwork, scholarships provide crucial support, allowing them to focus fully on shaping the next generation.”

Many students must travel or move for their semester as student teachers.

Texas Farm Bureau understands the value of student teaching and the financial strain it can place on the students as they complete their student teaching requirement.

“Off-campus student teaching immerses future agricultural science teachers in hands-on classroom experience alongside seasoned educators, preparing them to meet the high demand for passionate agriculture teachers,” Bush said.

The scholarship was created in 2018 to help students with financial expenses during the semester and renamed the Mia Balko Student Teaching Scholarship after the late Mia Balko in 2021.

Balko was the associate director of Youth Outreach and administered the scholarship program for TFB. Prior to joining TFB, Balko was an agricultural science teacher for many years.

“Each of the scholarship recipients were chosen in honor of Mia Balko’s legacy, and we believe they will do just that as they continue to their career in agricultural education,” Bush said.

Scholarships will be awarded to four additional agricultural education seniors going into their student teaching semester in fall 2025. Applications will be available later this month.

More information on scholarship eligibility can be found at texasfarmbureau.org/scholarships.