Summer 2020 INAG News

INAG News

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES | INSTITUTE OF APPLIED AGRICULTURE | SUMMER 2020

Zoom Zoom 2020 Graduation... and More!

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND / FEARLESS IDEAS

CONTENTS Epstein and Walls Earn Top Awards

3 Students Can Do It All

5 Virtual Graduation

6 Smolinski Shines Bright

8 Alumni Class Notes

9 IAA Student News

11 Cover (from left to right): Mason Banner, Claudia Torrieri, Caroline Beall, Monica Martin, Jason Wildt, Ben Beaven, Shana Burke, and Meghna Mathews.

Glori Hyman Director Rebecka Jones Graphic Designer

Instagram and Twitter: @iaa_umd Facebook and YouTube: /iaaumd INAG News is published twice a year by the Institute of Applied Agriculture. You, the reader, are encouraged to share comments, alumni updates, and agriculturerelated news.

From the Director’s Desk

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he COVID-19 pandemic not only brought us closer to those with whom we share a household, but also to our food, our yards, and outdoor environments— the things IAA students study. Agriculture “suddenly” became essential. Of course, we’ve always known that it’s essential and that our students and alumni are vital. Nonetheless, it was rewarding to see our farmers, landscapers, greenkeepers, arborists, horticulturists, etc. recognized for the crucial work they perform.

For me, the pandemic reinforced my belief that for every negative there is a positive; for every problem, there is a solution. I’m reminded of the customer who approached the deli counter and asked for her lunch meat to be sliced so thin that it only had one side. If you’re like me, you just laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of such a request. No matter how thin we try to slice things, there are always two sides. Like all of you, we at the IAA experienced lows and highs during the pandemic. For each negative, a positive emerged.

As the campus shut down due to COVID-19, many people in our community struggled financially. The IAA is proud of the work our faculty and staff did to help feed those in need.

The Community Learning Garden, which the IAA uses as an outdoor teaching lab, is donating all of its 2020 harvest to the Campus Pantry.

Twice a week, a group of dedicated volunteers has been gathering the produce and taking it to the pantry to help with the increased demand for food.

While IAA faculty were helping to fill the pantry, they continued to nourish the students’ minds albeit virtually. Given the hands-on nature of our courses, switching to online teaching certainly challenged us and our students. Then, just as we were fighting fatigue and online frustrations, we received the exciting news that IAA faculty are among the best teachers on campus and students rank our courses and teachers highly. (See the articles on pages 3 & 4.)

Those awards inspired and motivated us to keep going and to find new ways to use online tools to enhance student learning.

Then, we got hit with a wave of students losing their summer internships or being unable to find an internship due to the uncertainty of the

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times. To IAA students enrolled in a two-year program with only one summer in which to complete a required internship, this was a very real problem that caused students to stress about not graduating on time. So, we created a service-learning option for students where they apply course content to solve community-based problems. This allows students the opportunity to learn in real-world contexts and engage in community activities. The students participate in hands-on service roles and projects that intentionally address the needs within an agrelated organization.

Facing this new obstacle sparked us to create solutions that we may have never considered before, simply because we did not recognize the need. Our eyes have been opened to a new world of possibilities. Service-learning projects could have a lasting impact on our students and the ag community.

While the collective trauma of the pandemic may not be gone, we’re finding ways to reopen, recover and emerge stronger. Where there’s bad, there’s good. When problems arise, solutions will be found. Remember there are two sides to everything even if you ask for only one side.

Enjoy this issue of INAG News, and as always, I’d love to hear from you.

Glori D. Hyman

Epstein and Walls Earn Top Awards By: Heather McHale

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he Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) prides itself on having top-notch teachers—and this year’s College and University-wide awards highlighted how great they are! This year, the IAA has been honored with four major awards that highlight our contributions to teaching, advising, and promoting the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ (AGNR) mission.

garden always donates part of every harvest to the UMD Campus Pantry, which supports food-insecure community members. During the COVID-19 epidemic, all of the produce of the garden is being donated to the Campus Pantry. At the same time, Epstein is a cochair of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Strategic Implementation Team for Optimizing Urban Environments.

Roy Walls, who has taught for the IAA since 1990, won AGNR’s prestigious Paul A. Poffenberger Award for teaching and advising.

Recipients of the Poffenberger Award must display high standards of teaching; creativity and innovation in the classroom; and a strong record of service to students. Roy embodies each of those qualities.

A lifelong teacher of agriculture, Walls brings new technologies and methods into his classes at every opportunity (as well as helping other faculty do the same). He also serves students through his work with the IAA’s scholarship committee and his volunteer work with the Maryland Agricultural Teachers Association and Maryland FFA. Nearly every IAA student takes Walls’s course, INAG 250: Agricultural Mechanics, which covers electricity, plumbing, welding, woodwork, metalwork, and introductory GPS technology, along with project planning, implementation, and safety protocols. His students learn to problem-solve, plan and manage projects, and think critically about the needs of a particular situation.

In 2014, Epstein launched the Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays lecture series, which has brought an average of ten speakers to campus every spring semester to present on a wide range of topics connected to food and farming. The lectures are open to the public and available either in person or via WebEx. This year, AGNR has provided support for the series, which has been retitled the Sustainable Food Systems Lecture Series. To the IAA’s delight, this lecture series received AGNR’s brand-new Cornerstone Award, which recognizes contributions from AGNR faculty, staff, or external partners in an area defined by one of the college’s Strategic Initiatives—in this case, the initiative to Establish a Healthy Food System and Ensure Global Food and Nutritional Security.

Additionally, Walls won the 2019-2020 Provost’s Excellence Award for Professional Track Faculty for his outstanding teaching. This campuswide award, established in Fall 2015, recognizes the contributions of professional track faculty across all schools and colleges at UMD.

Pictured above is Epstein with her INAG123 class and below is Walls with a student at 2019 graduation.

“Teaching is our top priority,” says IAA Director Glori Hyman, “and we’re fortunate to have some of the best teachers at the university working for our students.”

The IAA’s Sustainable Agriculture lecturer and advisor, Meredith Epstein, has also been rewarded for outstanding work; she was chosen as the recipient of this year’s Professional Track Faculty OnCampus Excellence Award. Epstein excels in many dimensions at the IAA: hands-on teaching; supportive, personal advising; and active collaboration to promote agriculture all over campus and beyond.

Epstein strives to connect people and accomplish projects all over campus. She manages the Community Learning Garden (CLG), a living classroom for teaching urban agriculture and bio-intensive methods. The CLG was designed, built, and funded by partners from departments and units from all over the university and ordinarily hosts events for all ages and audiences, from yoga classes to seed swaps. The

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By: Glori Hyman

INAG 123 Voted Top 10

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ustainability has become a priority for many University of Maryland students. Collectively, undergraduate students contribute more than $360,000 annually to the campus sustainability fund, and of the 87 minors offered on campus, Sustainability Studies is the most popular. Just about every school and college at the university offers courses in sustainability. The topics range from agriculture to urban development, from solar energy to German poets and environmentalists. With nearly 100 courses approved for the Sustainability Studies minor, students can become overwhelmed when trying to select which courses to take.

During Earth Month 2020, the Office of Sustainability reached out through social media to the university’s 30,000 undergraduate students with this post: “Terps have a ton of fantastic sustainability classes to choose from! Which classes inspired YOU to help protect the Earth? “The Institute of Applied Agriculture’s sustainable agriculture course was voted a Top 10 course.

Created and taught by Meredith Epstein, INAG 123: People, Planet, and Profit: Digging Into Sustainable Agriculture, investigates the principles and practices of sustainable agriculture and their relationship to the greater food system. “We explore the social (people), environmental (planet), and economic (profit) impacts of agriculture – from challenges to opportunities. The course builds a foundational understanding in plant and animal science, soil science, economic trends, social issues, and more,” says Epstein, Senior Lecturer and Sustainable Agriculture Advisor at the IAA. Epstein believes students like the class because it tackles realworld issues and, true to the IAA mission, gives students hands-on experience through activities in the Community Learning Garden and at Terp Farm. “Students often tell me that they feel personally connected to the course content,” says Epstein.

From the student perspective, taking INAG 123 is equivalent to hitting a home run; with one class students hit four bases. In addition to meeting a requirement for the Sustainable Agriculture certificate, this course counts toward the Sustainability Studies minor and satisfies General Education requirements for Scholarship in Practice and the I-Series. Epstein believes the course is beneficial to students interested in food and agriculture who are just beginning to study and explore this realm. But, she adds, it also benefits “experienced agriculturalists looking for new information and perspectives.” Overall, she says, “Students should take this course if they want to change the food system starting from a nuts-andbolts perspective of how it really works . . . or doesn’t.”

Does Epstein have a favorite lesson in the class? Well, that’s like asking parents if they have a favorite child. Epstein likes all of the lessons; after all, she created them. “I’ve designed each lesson with students in mind! If any parts of my lesson plans don’t seem to capture attention or leave students curious for more, I work on improving them until they do.” If pressed to pick one lesson, Epstein says, “it would be the last one of the semester, when we bring everything we’ve discussed together and explore what a sustainable food future looks like.”

And what might the future look like for INAG 123 this fall?

Epstein says she’ll be adding a new discussion. “We will be exploring the emerging controversy over meat substitutes as part of a more sustainable diet.” Real life, real food, real concerns, real learning— that’s what makes INAG 123 a top-ranked sustainability course on UMD’s campus.

Picture below is students from INAG123 at Terp Farm. From left to right: Abby Berhanu, Sydney Weaver, Brandon Writt, Destiny Daley, and Caroline Beall.

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They [IAA Students] Can Do It All By: Robert Ballenger

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rospective students ask if they can study abroard or join student clubs once they enroll in the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA). And the answer is yes. IAA students do it all.

A remarkable 92% of job-seeking IAA students are hired in their field as soon as they complete their certificate. Others go on to pursue bachelor’s degrees at UMD. Some apply for undergraduate admission upon finishing their Certificate in Applied Agriculture; others apply after their first year as Agriculture Forward students. Regardless, these students engage fully in the college experience while earning two UMD credentials.

The university’s Ag Forward program began in 2014 and has opened the door for students to earn a Certificate in Applied Agriculture and a bachelor’s degree in as few as four years.

Mason Banner started as an Ag Forward student in 2017. “It’s been a complete lifesaver for me because it was a very seamless transition into college,” Banner explained.

The ease of transition resulted in part from living on campus during his first year as an IAA student. Banner says this exposure to college life got him off to a solid start. He adds that he lived “a pretty normal life as a college student,” although he did have some initial difficulty explaining his unique academic program to other students. As it turns out, Ag Forward’s unique qualities are ones that Banner cherishes. “The IAA classes are a lot smaller,” he explained.

“They walk you through everything. I didn’t have much trouble jumping into the university, and [Ag Forward] probably made it easier because… kids coming straight from high school don’t get that added semester or two of living on campus and taking [classes].”

His immersion into campus life made it easier to pursue extra-curricular activities, including the sport of ultimate frisbee.

Banner became a starting player on the Maryland Men’s Ultimate Disc Club, and he competes in numerous tournaments

throughout the mid-Atlantic each year. As a first-year IAA student his team was ranked in the country’s top 20, which earned them a spot in the national tournament.

agriculture while visiting a Danish farm.

Martin says she knew exactly what the farmers were talking about thanks to her IAA coursework in sustainable agriculture.

Cameron Smith, who enrolled in the IAA in 2016, found her extra-curricular calling through dance. When the sustainable agriculture student wasn’t getting her hands dirty in soil during her first year at the IAA, Smith put on ballet slippers with a studentled dance organization. Now, she says, “I am the executive director of the dance company Ballet Company M.”

Alyssa Steele travelled to a different corner of the globe as an Ag Forward student. She went to Peru to study medicinal plants of the Amazon. Steele’s time in Peru included horticulture studies (i.e., looking at plant adaptations in the rainforest), which fits well with her Ornamental Horticulture concentration at the IAA and her Landscape Architecture major. Steele says the workload required to graduate on time is challenging, “but there is great benefit in having a close-knit community such as the IAA to hear about many great internship and job opportunities.”

Smith’s ballet success is matched by her academic endeavors. She completed her sustainable agriculture certificate; then, she immediately pursued her bachelor’s degree.

Smith expects to finish her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science & Technology – with a concentration in ecosystem health – in Fall 2020.

Jack Colbert is another student who earned a campus leadership role while working toward his certificate and degree. He joined Sigma Chi fraternity as a first-year Ag Forward student in 2017, and last year he took charge of the group’s signature philanthropy event, Derby Days, raising a record-breaking $56,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Colbert says he’s been able to juggle so many college responsibilities because of what he learned during his early days at the IAA. Like all first-year Ag Forward students, he had to take 30 credits and earn a minimum GPA of 3.0. Colbert says those requirements were daunting at first, “but once you get into the flow of things and learn how to manage your time, it really wasn’t difficult.” Colbert is on track to complete his certificate (Sustainable Agriculture) and degree (Environmental Science & Policy) in four years.

Steele adds that she found her IAA advisor to be the most thorough advisor at UMD in ensuring an on-time graduation. Steele is not alone in this experience. Banner says that he seeks guidance from his IAA advisor before anybody else on campus. He says that his IAA advisor “will always be able to actually know what I’m interested in and actually know what I want to do… This has been a nice place I can go back to [where faculty are] answering all my questions and I’m always feeling welcome.”

All of these students credit the IAA with helping them prepare to fully engage in their college experiences – athletic, social, cultural and academic – which have contributed to their broader success. Just ask Smith, who was recently accepted into the AGNR Undergraduate Honors Program: “My [AGNR] advisor said one of the things that stood out [in my application] was my well-roundedness.”

Pictured below is Alyssa Steele studying abroad in the Amazon Rainforest.

Also finishing in four years is Ag Forward student Monica Martin. Within that time frame she spent a semester abroad in Denmark as part of her environmental science degree. Martin’s overseas studies included an impromptu lesson on sustainable

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Virtual Graduation for Class of 2020 2020 has marked a first for many things this year including celebrating our graduates virtually. One thing that hasn’t changed? Our student’s readiness to continue their education at a four-year institution or dive into their careers after graduating with a certificate in applied agriculture!

Congratulations, graduates.

Spring 2020 Caroline Beall Woodbine, MD Agricultural Business Management

Mason Banner Dayton, MD Sustainable Agriculture

Ben Beaven Denton, MD Agricultural Business Management

Frank Bohne LaPlata, MD Agricultural Business Management

Shana N. Burke LaPlata, MD Sustainable Agriculture

Daniel Heyser Silver Spring, MD Agricultural Business Management

Meghna Mathews Silver Spring, MD Agricultural Business Management

Paige Moffitt Silver Spring, MD Sustainable Agriculture

Asma Palmer Columbia, MD Agricultural Business Management

Emma Sarigianis

Samuel Harris

Reisterstown, MD Sustainable Agriculture

College Park, MD Sustainable Agriculture

Claudia Torrieri

Monica Martin

Parkville, MD Sustainable Agriculture

Westminster, MD Sustainable Agriculture

Fall 2019

Barbara Sikorski

Jack Colbert Silver Spring, MD Sustainable Agriculture

Aaron Frock Westminster, MD Landscape Management

Aaron Good Greensboro, MD Agricultural Business Management

Elkridge, MD General Ornamental Horticulture

Jason S. Wildt Baltimore, MD Golf Course Management

“I will forever cherish the mentorship and support I received from the faculty as they have led me to be where I am today.“ Meghna Mathews ‘20

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Meghna Mathews: IAA’s Outstanding Student By: Meredith Epstein

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very spring before graduation, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) Alumni Network selects winners for its Outstanding Student Awards. One student is chosen for each academic department in AGNR. For 2020, the network unanimously selected Meghna Mathews as the Outstanding Student in the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA).

Mathews graduated on Friday, May 22 with her Certificate in Applied Agriculture in the Agricultural Business Management concentration. Although UMD’s commencement festivities were virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was much to celebrate.

Not only did graduates complete all of the IAA program requirements, but they did so under unusually stressful circumstances. “After two years of in person classes, I did not expect to be graduating virtually,” said Mathews. “However, given the circumstances, I love the thought of having my family sitting next to me as I am being recognized for my certificate completion! Pandemic or no pandemic, I am honored to be graduating from the IAA!”

and positive attitude. Come fall, she will continue her education at the University of Maryland, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Economics. Ultimately, Mathews aspires to work in finance and natural resources with the federal government or World Bank.

Mathews finished strong in a particularly challenging set of courses this spring, including calculus, microeconomics, and agricultural business management. Her gratitude continued: “The IAA was an enriching hands-on experience within the agribusiness industry. I was able to reinforce my passion for agriculture and its socioeconomic impacts. I will forever cherish the mentorship and support I received from the faculty as they have led me to be where I am today!”

Behind the scenes, Mathews is also an accomplished artist and musician. She even owns a small business, Mendhi by Meghna, providing henna art services at events. This love of creativity, coupled with kindness and a willingness to help others, shows through her involvement in local organizations such as the UMD chapter of Youth Art for Healing, the UMD Community Learning Garden, Habitat for Humanity, and leading arts and other activities for seniors in several assisted living facilities.

This summer, Mathews will return to Woodmont Country Club, where she completed her IAA internship requirement in 2019.

The horticulture crew is eager for her return after she made a lasting impression on them with her work ethic, dependability,

IAA faculty and staff agree that it has been an absolute pleasure to have Mathews at the IAA over the past two years, and they are thrilled that she will be on campus for another two years working on her degree.

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By: Glori Hyman

Smolinski Shines Bright

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n September 2019, when the IAA was establishing its new Early Career Alumni Award, a public health pandemic was a nebulous subject of medical thriller novels. Little did we know it would become reality and put our alumni in essential and heroic roles. The IAA’s first-ever Early Career Alumni Award goes to Meg Smolinski, a 2016 graduate in Ornamental Horticulture, who put her skills to good use filling the campus food pantry, applying for funding, and helping those in need.

The Early Career Alumni Award honors an IAA graduate who has earned their Certificate in Applied Agriculture within the past seven years, has made significant progress in their career, and has shown outstanding service. Smolinski easily checks all the boxes. Her contributions to the campus community, the IAA, and the profession have been far reaching.

IAA’s Senior Lecturer, Meredith Epstein, says “Meg transitioned seamlessly from being a star student to being an excellent campus employee and colleague in the UMD Arboretum and Botanical Garden. She has stayed highly engaged with the IAA as an alumnus, from mentoring interns to serving as a “client” for several class projects to providing feedback during our external review.”

Smolinski traveled a unique path to the IAA. After a decade working in museum administration with the Smithsonian Institutions in DC, Smolinski says she came to a “jumping off a cliff ” moment. She wanted a change, a new career, yet leaving a prestigious, secure job was frightening. “But the grounding that the coursework and experience at the IAA gave me has made it one of the best decisions of my life,” says Smolinski, who now works as the University of Maryland’s Arboretum and Botanical Gardens Outreach Coordinator, a job she heard about through the IAA. Smolinski’s advisor at the IAA was Ken Ingram. He believes, “Meg

has the ideal education for a horticulturist: the knowledge of what is beautiful, obtained in an art history degree from Notre Dame, along with scientific and organizational skills obtained at the IAA.” As the Outreach Coordinator, she shares and supports the IAA’s missions and goals. She is a staff advisor for the IAA’s Community Learning Garden, providing facilities management support with storm water maintenance, caring for orchard trees, mulching, and tending to other garden tasks. The two things that she believes have had the biggest impact, though, are Good Neighbor Day and the Campus Food Garden internship.

Knowing the value of student internships, Smolinski created the Campus Food Internship. It is a collaboration between the Arboretum, the IAA, and Dining Services. Interns care for the Community Learning Garden as well as the Chef ’s Garden at the Stamp, which is run by Dining Services. Then, in the spring of 2020, COVID hit. Students, faculty, and staff evacuated and campus became eerily quiet. Amid that stillness, however, the demand for Campus Pantry provisions tripled. Smolinski was among those who volunteered to ensure the campus gardens were maintained and yields were donated to the pantry so those in need have access to fresh produce.

“Meg has been a critical partner in the IAA’s efforts at the Community Learning Garden, including maintaining it as a teaching space, doing community outreach, and donating harvests to the UMD Campus Pantry during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Epstein, the faculty advisor for the Community Learning Garden.

“I feel like I’ve never left the IAA because of the opportunities that my position offers me. I am incredibly happy to not only be an IAA alumna but to use my experience to stay at Maryland and enhance our campus.“ Meg Smolinski ‘16

Pictured left is Smolinski at her 2015 internship at Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, in Charlottesville,Virginia.

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Class Notes

Brandon McIntyre, SUSAG ‘18, became a Program Analyst at US Environmental Protection Agency in April 2020.

Scott Hebert, GOLF ‘16, is First Assistant Golf Course Superintendent at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, AZ.

Cody Cashman, AGBUS ‘13, became General Manager at

SEND US YOUR NEWS! We’d like to hear about your personal and professional life.

SEND MAIL TO:

Institute of Applied Agriculture Jull Hall, Room 2123 4196 Stadium Drive College Park, MD 20742

Congratulations to Nicolas Tardif, HORT ‘18. A Field Manager, IPM/ Pesticides Applicator Specialist, and Fertilizer Applicator Specialist with Ruppert Landscape, Nicolas received the Ruppert DCM branch impact award.

Red River Valley Fair Association in May 2020.

Benjamin Beale, AGBUS ‘95, was promoted to Principal Agent at University of Maryland Extension.

EMAIL:

iaa-request@umd.edu

WEB:

iaa.umd.edu/points-pride/alumni-spotlight

In Memoriam...

Guy McDonald, TURF 1999, passed away unexpectedly on April 3, 2020, at his home in New York. Guy spent 20 years in the United States Air Force, starting as an aircraft mechanic. He was promoted to Presidential Maintenance with Air Force One as a member of the Presidential crew. He joined the IAA after his military service and graduated with honors with his certificate in Turfgrass Management. He entered his second career in golf course management and eventually moved to New York in 2013. Guy was the Superintendent of Grounds Maintenance for Mohawk Valley Country Club and remained an active member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association.

Walter Montross, GOLF 1975, passed away on April 12, 2020, after a three-year battle with metastatic Acral Melanoma. After graduation from the IAA, Walter began his celebrated 36-year professional career as an Assistant Superintendent at Washington Golf & Country Club in 1976.

Three years later, he became Head Golf Course Superintendent at Springfield Golf & Country Club. In 1990, he moved to Westwood Country Club, where he stayed until retiring in 2011.

During his career, Walter hired and mentored many IAA students who entered the golf turf industry.

In 2000, Walter became the 27th individual, worldwide, to achieve the Master Greenkeeper distinction through The British and International Golf Greenkeeping Association (BIGGA). He was a dedicated member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and its Mid-Atlantic chapter, having served two terms as the Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents’ (MAAGCS) President and serving on many committees. After retiring, Walter and his wife Linda moved to Virginia, where he joined the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, volunteering countless hours.

On behalf of Walter, his estate has made a generous contribution to the J. Kevin Mathias Scholarship fund to help future students discover their life’s calling, as Walter had during his time at the IAA.

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Faculty Accolades Two IAA faculty members, Glori Hyman and Tope Fajingbesi, partnered with Penn State University on a Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development grant proposal, and will be part of the team hosting the “Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities” conference in Lebanon, PA, in October.

Meredith Epstein, IAA’s Senior Lecturer and Sustainable Agriculture Advisor, has been part of three recent grant awards. She is part of the SARE Grant team that received for a 3-year Professional Development Project “Farm Mentorship Training and Support Groups for Educators of Aspiring and Beginning Farmers.” She received a Pepsi Enhancement Fund grant to hold a Campus Vegetable Garden Fall Series.

And finally, she teamed up with IAA Alum Meg Smolinski and received a $15,000 award from the US Botanic Garden and Public Gardens Association Urban Agriculture Resilience Program to support UMD’s Community Learning Garden.

Congratulations to Oral Communication Instructor Chelsea Culture Doctoral Program at UMBC.

Mays-Williams for being accepted into the Language, Literacy, and

Congratulations to two IAA Instructors, Chelsea Mays-Williams and Sam Rubin, on being nominated for the Donna B. Hamilton Teaching Award. Awards are sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Studies and based solely on student nominations solicited from across campus. Both Chelsea and Sam teach the IAA’s Oral Communication class.

IAA Lecturer and Advisor for Agricultural Business, Tope Fajingbesi, is also a CPA and co-owner of a small diversified farm in Montgomery County. Through her virtual workshop “Strategies for Managing Financial Risks During COVID-19” she has been helping farmers identify strategies for dealing with the potential loss of revenue as a result of closed channels, cost implications of additional safety procedures and planning for uncertainties.

Double congratulations to Rob Ballenger. Rob and his wife Jenni welcomed their son, Otto, into the world on March 19. In addition, Rob who has been an Oral Communication Lecturer with the IAA since 2015, was promoted to Senior Lecturer this year.

In Memoriam...

Longtime IAA Director and agriculture education advocate, Dr. Ronald John Seibel, passed away suddenly on March 16, 2020.

We are all saddened by this news. We have fond memories of Ron and a deep appreciation for his devotion to the IAA and the hard work he put into developing the program during its early years.

Ron came to the University of Maryland in 1967 where he earned his PhD in Agricultural Education. Upon graduation, he assumed leadership of the Institute of Applied Agriculture, serving as Director until his retirement in1998. In addition, he served for 10 years as the Acting Assistant Dean for the College of Agriculture.

Throughout his life, he remained a strong advocate for agriculture education in Maryland and served on several boards including the Maryland Agriculture Education Foundation, of which he was a founding member. Ron established the Ronald J. Seibel Scholarship in 1998, and many IAA students have been the recipients of this scholarship.

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Dr. Ronald J. Seibel Scholarship memorial contributions should be made payable to Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF) and mailed to P.O. Box 536, 403 Oakington Road, Havre de Grace, MD 21078. Please note “Seibel Scholarship” in memo.

During uncertain times, there’s one thing that is certain; #AgIsEssential.

Students at the IAA are farmers, landscapers, greenhouse growers, and so much more that are essential to our society.

Pictured above from left to right: Caroline Beall excercising horses, Daniel Heyser working at the farm stand, and Lynn Brooks planting at the Mona Center.

Clark Wins Regional Academic Paper Competition By: Meredith Epstein It all started when Hailey Clark needed to fill a hole in her class schedule for the spring 2020 semester. She considered several options for an elective course and finally settled on something that would be completely new to her, taking her outside of her comfort zone: INAG131 Introduction to Agricultural Policy and Communication.

Little did she know that, by the end of the semester, she would have won a $500 top prize from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) for a paper she wrote for this class.

Clark, a sophomore Ornamental Horticulture major, drew inspiration from her experience as a fourth-generation dairy farmer to come up with a policy topic for the competition. COG’s Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee (CBPC) launched its first annual paper competition this spring.

Four students in the class formally submitted their final papers to the competition: Hailey Clark, Brooke Knauss, Chelsea Patterson, and Jack Williams.

Overall, the students found this assignment rewarding. “This was my first time writing

an in-depth policy idea, and I feel like I have grown a lot from this experience. It felt very gratifying to have the work I did for class being shared beyond the classroom.

I think this paper competition makes a lot of sense for this course because it allowed me to apply the information I learned from lectures,” said Patterson. Williams added, “I felt sharing my policy idea with this group was a direct route for change.”

Clark’s winning paper, titled “A New Approach to Preserving Land for Agriculture in the Washington Metro Region,” proposed a set of regional policies that would allow for farmland enrolled in preservation programs to successfully transition to the next generation of farmers.

On May 15, she presented her winning paper to 44 audience members, including many elected officials and their staff from Washington DC and surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia, at a CBPC virtual meeting.

During the meeting, CBPC Vice-Chair Laurie-Anne Sayles – Councilmember of Gaithersburg – described Clark’s winning paper as full of “timely and

Pictured above is Hailey Clark with a lamb from the campus farm. innovative ideas,” especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee’s chair, Councilmember Jon Stehle of Fairfax, shared that CBPC’s intention with the competition was to “create a space for interaction with our region’s academic institutions and students. I see it as a winwin. It’s an opportunity for our members to hear about research around a topic of interest and ways to apply it. We specifically asked for students to detail how local governments could apply their science and policy approaches in the near term and over the next year. In exchange, students are given the opportunity to think about local government issues, and concisely present their ideas on paper and in person via an interactive session with members of the committee.”

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