By Julie Tomascik
Editor
College students majoring in agricultural education and preparing to student teach off campus in the spring semester can apply for scholarships from Texas Farm Bureau (TFB).
The Student Teaching Award scholarships are valued at $1,500 and awarded to four senior agricultural education students during the spring semester of off-campus student teaching.
“Student teaching full time in the classroom is an invaluable experience to these future educators,” Whit Weems, director of TFB’s Organization division, said. “They learn how an agricultural science classroom operates and other responsibilities like supervising livestock projects, coaching teams for various competitions and serving as an FFA advisor.”
Often during the student teaching experience, college seniors are not able to have a job and can be placed at a school district far from their university or hometown.
“Student teaching can be a demanding experience. The hours are long and usually the college student doesn’t have time for another job to earn income during the semester,” Weems said. “TFB’s scholarship aims to help with the financial burden faced by those students who are preparing for careers in agricultural education.”
There are more than 2,000 full-time agricultural science teachers and over 1,100 active FFA chapters. The Texas FFA Association has the largest membership out of all state FFA associations.
“There’s no doubt that ag science teachers are in demand, especially as the Texas FFA Association continues to grow,” Weems said. “TFB is dedicated to helping prepare college students to fill those roles as teachers, advisors and community leaders.”
The application is available online at my.texasfarmbureau.org and must be submitted before midnight on Nov. 1.
The scholarship application includes a written essay, several short answer questions and a recommendation form from a college or university supervisor.
The student must be part of a TFB member-family to qualify, and that membership must be maintained for the duration of the scholarship.
More information, eligibility requirements, scholarship checklist and recommendation form are available online.
Scholarship winners will be announced in January.
Four scholarships will also be awarded in fall 2022 to seniors majoring in agricultural education and going into their student teaching semester. Details on those scholarships will be released later this year.
Contact youthactivities@txfb.org or call 254.751.2258 with questions.