Ag ed alumna recognized for teaching excellence
To teach her advanced animal science class how blood cells travel through the body, Cathy Berrier (left) has the students run a race.
Photo by Donnie Roberts, The Dispatch
On winning high honors from the National Association of Agricultural Educators, a College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumna says her highest accomplishment is her students’ achievements.
“The joy of seeing students meet and exceed their goals is an amazing sight,” says Cathy Shoaf Berrier, a Davidson County high school teacher. “Where else can you get paid for doing what you love every day while helping young people unlock their potential and discover opportunities they never dreamed possible?”
Berrier was named NAAE’s state winner of the Outstanding Young Member Award, an honor that takes into account teaching philosophy, effective classroom and experiential instruction, development of partnerships and personal growth. She also was named Ledford High School’s Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for the county’s Teacher of the Year award for 2006-07.
Accomplishment isn’t new to Berrier, who graduated from N.C. State University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education — and a 4.0 grade point average. After graduating, she moved with confidence into her first teaching position in Randolph County.
“I felt very prepared when I stepped foot into my first classroom. The agricultural education department at NCSU is top-notch,” she said. “I had great professors, in and out of my major, and great high school agriculture teachers and FFA advisers. My participation as a CALS Ambassador and CALS Career Services peer tutor also prepared me for the real world.”
After two years in Randolph County, Berrier returned to her home county to join the faculty at Ledford High in 2004. Her biggest challenge has been rebuilding an agricultural education program that had been lost in the previous year.
Berrier has reestablished that program through hard work. She teaches a range of courses — including animal science, agriscience, biotechnology and agriscience research, horticulture and advanced agricultural studies — and serves as advisor to a 150-member FFA chapter.
“It would be impossible to calculate the hours I have spent interacting with students, parents and community members preparing FFA members to compete and participate in activities,” she says. “I often feel that I spend more time with my students than their own parents do.”
Berrier says her experience growing up on a farm, taking agriculture classes and participating in FFA in high school convinced her that she wanted to be an agricultural teacher by the time she was in 10th grade.
“I gained so much as a student that I wanted to give back to the agricultural community and the FFA organization,” she says.
What would she say to those considering a similar career choice?
“Go for it! It is such a great feeling to know that your hard work and dedication have made the future come alive for students. That feeling makes it worth your time,” she says. “I would tell them to expect challenges, and … the rewards outweigh the challenges. Teaching agriculture can be exciting and rewarding if you are prepared.”
— Dee Shore
“The joy of seeing students meet and exceed their goals is an amazing sight,” says Cathy Shoaf Berrier, a Davidson County high school teacher. “Where else can you get paid for doing what you love every day while helping young people unlock their potential and discover opportunities they never dreamed possible?”
Berrier was named NAAE’s state winner of the Outstanding Young Member Award, an honor that takes into account teaching philosophy, effective classroom and experiential instruction, development of partnerships and personal growth. She also was named Ledford High School’s Teacher of the Year and was a finalist for the county’s Teacher of the Year award for 2006-07.
Accomplishment isn’t new to Berrier, who graduated from N.C. State University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education — and a 4.0 grade point average. After graduating, she moved with confidence into her first teaching position in Randolph County.
“I felt very prepared when I stepped foot into my first classroom. The agricultural education department at NCSU is top-notch,” she said. “I had great professors, in and out of my major, and great high school agriculture teachers and FFA advisers. My participation as a CALS Ambassador and CALS Career Services peer tutor also prepared me for the real world.”
After two years in Randolph County, Berrier returned to her home county to join the faculty at Ledford High in 2004. Her biggest challenge has been rebuilding an agricultural education program that had been lost in the previous year.
Berrier has reestablished that program through hard work. She teaches a range of courses — including animal science, agriscience, biotechnology and agriscience research, horticulture and advanced agricultural studies — and serves as advisor to a 150-member FFA chapter.
“It would be impossible to calculate the hours I have spent interacting with students, parents and community members preparing FFA members to compete and participate in activities,” she says. “I often feel that I spend more time with my students than their own parents do.”
Berrier says her experience growing up on a farm, taking agriculture classes and participating in FFA in high school convinced her that she wanted to be an agricultural teacher by the time she was in 10th grade.
“I gained so much as a student that I wanted to give back to the agricultural community and the FFA organization,” she says.
What would she say to those considering a similar career choice?
“Go for it! It is such a great feeling to know that your hard work and dedication have made the future come alive for students. That feeling makes it worth your time,” she says. “I would tell them to expect challenges, and … the rewards outweigh the challenges. Teaching agriculture can be exciting and rewarding if you are prepared.”
— Dee Shore