Brandon Bixler did not grow up on a farm. However, he hails from Lancaster County, which, according to county officials, is comprised of 65% agricultural land. He had a “transformative” experience there, and now, the rising third-year Scholar is charting his path as an agriculture educator.
“In the United States, less than 2% of the population is involved in production agriculture. In some ways, that represents a lot of development, and on the other hand, the 98% of us who don’t work in that every day can easily become disconnected from the industry,” Bixler said.
“In high school, I was very blessed to have teachers who showed me those connections and showed me the importance of the industry and how it provides for the food needs of people all around the world,” he added. “So, that’s where the passion came from.”
A student who values augmenting classroom lessons with real-world learning opportunities, Bixler joined his high school’s chapter of FFA, which provided him with ample “hands-on, experiential learning opportunities.” The organization was formerly known as Future Farmers of America and changed its name to reflect the broad scope of careers within the agriculture industry. Within that scope, Bixler learned about agriculture education and how it aligns with his goal of positively impacting the world.
“It’s an industry where there’s potential to do a lot of good. There are so many places around the world where people don’t have access to three meals a day,” Bixler said. “These challenges are complex, and there are so many components to them. That excites me because it allows me to connect all of these different aspects to hopefully make a positive change.”
Since enrolling at Penn State, Bixler has taken on an internship with the Global Teach Ag Network (GTAN). Founded by the husband-and-wife team of Penn State faculty members Dr. Daniel Foster and Dr. Melanie Miller Foster, GTAN works to “empower educators to address global food systems transformation.” Bixler highlights advising the Global Learning in Agriculture (GLAG) Reads program and assisting with executing the year-long, virtual GLAG Conference as significant projects on which he’s worked.
“[The conference] is our biggest event of the year, and this year, for the first time, we shifted to a year-long model of virtual content delivery,” he noted. “We have over 1,000 educators from 45 countries participating, so it truly is a global conference.”
While Bixler spent many hours during the past academic year helping to facilitate international connections among agricul- ture educators, he got firsthand experience with global agriculture this past May.
Along with a group of three other Penn Staters, Bixler traveled with the Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation to “experience STEM education in remote areas” of the country. While there, they used a method called photovoice, which allowed Nepalese educators to provide a first-person perspective of their learning environments and resources through photographs. By analyzing that data, they sought to understand areas where help could be offered, such as ensuring that skills are taught and learned in the classroom could be applied in real life.
“The experience was stretching in many ways and a blessing in so many more,” said Bixler. “Throughout the trip, I met people who work hard to provide students with a quality education with the resources available.
“I met people who strive to inspire every student who walks in their classroom door, no matter the challenges they face. Above all, I met people who show up and do the hard work to help others whenever and wherever they can. I count myself as fortunate to have been a part of something so meaningful.”
