NACTA Newsletter - June/July 2025 (Eastern Region)
Monday, July 7, 2025
(0 Comments)
Posted by: NACTA
June/July 2025 (Eastern Region) NACTA President Elizabeth Karcher's Message
NACTA Past-President Cheryl Wachenheim's Outgoing Message
NACTA 2025 Conference Photos
NACTA Journal Updates
USDA Teaching Awards Nominations Process Reopens
New NACTA Members
Renew Your NACTA Membership
Featured NACTA Eastern Region Member: Michael Mashtare
NACTA Eastern Region Open Content 
NACTA Roundup with President Elizabeth Karcher
A warm welcome to our newest members and a heartfelt greeting to our returning colleagues. It was wonderful to see so many excited faces at our Annual Conference in Edmonton. It was a fantastic and inspiring conference. As we prepare for the fall semester, I hope you're bringing with you fresh insights and renewed enthusiasm for our time together. Thank you to the University of Alberta and the NACTA Program Planning Committee for making the event such a success. I want to express my sincere appreciation to Cheryl Wachenheim for her leadership over the past year, as well as to all members of our Executive Committee. I am truly honored and excited to step into this role and look forward to the year ahead. NACTA is a community that gives us a space to share our passion for teaching and learning. In the coming year, we aim to finalize our strategic plan and continue fostering opportunities for engagement and innovation within our membership. I look forward to working with each of you. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback or questions. Thank you for the opportunity to serve an organization that has given so much to me. Elizabeth Karcher,
NACTA President Top ↑
NACTA Past President Cheryl Wachenheim's Outgoing MessageGreetings! It has been an amazing opportunity to serve as President of an organization that has been a regular and precious part of my professional life for over three decades. I have made many lifelong friends, learned so very much that has helped me become a better (and my students would no doubt say, more interesting) teacher, and have long considered this organization like an extension of my professional family. It is great to see colleagues from my era still sharing the same excitement for teaching agriculture that we see in young professionals and graduate students that continue to liven up NACTA. The old war stories from teaching days long ago have been replaced by discussions about incorporating technology but the goal remains how to help students reach their potential as they enter their chosen fields. I am thankful for so many folks and I am hopeful that you know this because I have shared my gratitude or simply my amazement at all that you are and all you have done. I look forward to continuing to work with you as Past-President and as your colleague and friend. You are appreciated! Cheryl Top ↑ 
NACTA 2025 Conference Photos
(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Be on the lookout for more photos from the NACTA 2025 Conference, including the official awards photos and more! Keep an eye on your inbox! Top ↑ 
NACTA Journal UpdatesFounded in 1963, The NACTA Journal is a professional refereed journal published by the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA). It is directed toward the scholarship of teaching and learning and the professional advancement of the teaching of agriculture and related disciplines. The NACTA Journal presents papers on all aspects of teaching, including methods, problems, philosophy, and rewards. The Journal offers something for every teacher in agriculture or a related discipline. Whether traditional classroom or extension-related, its primary purpose is to strengthen professional competence in college and adult teaching. May 2025: - 5 Submissions Received
- 10 Published
For more information on the NACTA Journal, and to submit a manuscript or teaching tip, click here. Top ↑ 
USDA Teaching Awards Nominations Process ReopensApplications for the 2025 National Awards for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences from USDA have reopened and are now due September 30, 2025. You can reach the USDA Teaching Award Nomination Guidelines and Packet here. There have been some changes to the Evaluation Criteria since guidelines were taken down this spring. Please check the newest guidelines and ensure your packet conforms to these guidelines. Top ↑ 
New NACTA MembersNACTA has 19 new members since our last newsletter. We hope you will join us in welcoming them! Eastern
Erin Alava, OH
Jeneen Fields, IN Southern
Savannah Scott, FL
Kelley Ranly, TX
Geraldine Klarenberg, FL
Jenelle Robinson, TX
Xuche Gong, MS
Kelsey Harvey, MS
Vaughn Reed, MS
Xue Zhang, MS
Jagmandeep Dhillon, MS
Cappe Hallberg, MS
Jessica Pattison, MS Central
Indi Braden, MO
Maria Regina Cattai de Godoy, IL
Nicki Busdieker-Jesse, MO Canadian
Olds College
Madison Ricard
Thiago Noetzold 
Renew Your NACTA MembershipNACTA is the largest professional development organization that focuses specifically on the scholarship of teaching and learning in agriculture, food and natural resources. Need to renew your membership? Want to invite a colleague to join? Want to change your membership status? Visit the membership page here. We appreciate your NACTA membership!Top ↑
NACTA Eastern Region News
Featured Member: Michael Mashtare
Highlight an experience that has impacted you as a NACTA member.
One of the highlights of the past year was meeting and working with my co-director, Dr. Tasia Kendrick. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to collaborate with her and get to know her, and I hope, even as our term as co-directors ends, that our friendship continues for years to come. While many of our ideas did not receive approval from the President’s Council, we’re proud to have successfully advocated for each region to have space in the newsletter—a step toward building and strengthening our community.
Is there something about yourself would you like to share with the group to introduce yourself?
Despite containing enough sodium to fell a horse, my favorite food is Hamburger Helper Lasagna. It’s pure comfort food from my childhood and has become my go-to for celebrating milestones—birthdays, graduations, starting a new job, and even the day my daughter came home from the hospital. In fact, there’s a photo of her in my kitchen taken the day she came home posed in front of a Hamburger Helper Lasagna box. Is it the most delicious food in the world? Probably not. But I love it. As a side note, my daughter—now eight—won’t touch it and absolutely hates that picture.
Describe your most memorable mentorship/teaching moment with (a) student(s)
Like many others during the pandemic, my course transitioned to a virtual format and was delivered via Zoom. At the end of my final lecture in Fall 2020, I thanked the students for their engagement—with me and with one another—for their hard work, and for making the best of a difficult situation. I was about to end the Zoom session when I noticed that everyone was still logged in, each holding up a “thank you” sign to their camera. I’ll admit, I got emotional—and I still do whenever I look at the screenshot of that moment, now printed, framed, and hanging in my office. Like the cards, letters, and emails we receive throughout our careers, it is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do—even when the world feels (and may actually be) upside down.
What icebreaker have you used in the classroom that you really enjoyed (or have you participated in that made an impact and resonated with you)?
At the start of the semester, I have students create a slide that represents their favorite movie, TV show, or song using only images—no text/words and no direct visuals from the original source. I incorporate these icebreaker slides throughout my lectures to break them into segments, offering students a mental pause, re-engaging their attention, and creating opportunities for them to learn about one another (helping foster a stronger sense of community in the classroom).
Open Content
Top ↑
|
Print Page
Email to a Friend
