April Showers Bring May Flowers

Alicia Kabat, ITCS Student CDE Coordinator

Spring fever is in swing—warm weather, plants in full bloom, and Illinois high school agricultural education students gearing up for the biggest day of the year. On the last Saturday of April, around 1,200 prospective U of I students from across Illinois attended Career Development Events held here on campus. From metro Chicago to every corner of countryside, students converged for a packed day of learning opportunities, friendly encounters, and experiences they will never forget.

           

I began the spring semester as the Student CDE coordinator intern with ITCS to further my experience. Since day one, high expectations were placed upon me and have been life changing for my upcoming career as an agricultural education teacher. My main duty was to prepare for the state

Horticulture/Landscaping CDE, where 250 students would compete to demonstrate their knowledge. My semester’s adventures took me from creating and revising many products for the CDE to coordinating with faculty and staff across the College of ACES and the State FFA Center. I learned that communication is key! Many emails and meetings have taken place throughout the preparation process. With the wonderful support system throughout the Educational Publishing team as I prepared for the CDE, tasks were easy to complete.

The skills and knowledge I learned in my internship as the Student CDE Coordinator will greatly affect the readiness I will feel as an agricultural education teacher. I now know what is needed and how to do it, and what the final product of a Career Development Event that I coordinated feels like.

The University of Illinois has created this opportunity for me to explore education in a way that I never experienced before. The College of ACES has moved me closer to the type of educator I want to be. There’s nothing comparable to the experience I have had as an intern in Information Technology and Communications Services.