Collyn Damerau

AGSD 4385

ALE Reflection
Within the Discipline
In my studies I have taken a plethora of courses that helped me throughout my
Internship. There were three courses that were a huge help to me through my experience such
as, Agricultural Power Units 201, Agricultural Mechanical Services and Instruction 406, and Ag
Applied Analysis 211. Through my internship I helped teach a portion of the Power Units
course. Everything I learned in the course I took prior to my experience abled me to teach the
lab portion of the class. The Agricultural Mechanical Services and Instruction class gave me
more of an understanding for the Lab Techniques class I assisted Dr. Langley with. Applied
analysis taught me the different tools that Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. This course
was really helpful when I was typing up tests and helping creating lessons.
Beyond The Discipline
Other classes that I have taken outside of my content area really helped me as well.
Three major ones were Communications 102, Professional Development I Understanding
Learners 320, and Content Area Reading 351. Communications showed me what my problems
were when speaking in front of others. This class allowed me to correct those problems when
teaching the lab portion. In the Professional Development course I took it taught me that there
are many different types of learners and that you have to adapt to help each individual student.
This course really helped me as I was teaching because everyone did not just grasp the
concepts. I had to go about it at a different direction for a lot of students. Content Area Reading
showed me how to make even the most boring subjects seem interesting and relatable. In my
experience I had to teach a lecture over Trouble Shooting engines. This subject is not the most
exciting thing to talk about but I tried to make it relatable to them, and the students actually
grasped the lecture.
Beyond Academics
During my studies I was a part of a few organizations that I learned from and could apply
what I have learned in class to a real world setting. These organizations were the Tarleton
Collegiate FFA and the Delta Chi Fraternity. In these Organizations they taught me how to be a
better communicator, leader, and overall person. These organizations taught me to be a better
communicator because you cannot communicate then nothing will get done. In both of these
organizations at some point I had to step and be a leader and it taught me key ways to lead
effectively.
Making Connections

Through all my experiences through college thus far I have learned a lot of key
information. No matter if it was my agricultural classes, my elective classes, or through any of
my extracurricular activities, I learned what it takes to be successful in the real world. I learned
how to use the knowledge I obtained and better communicate it because of the organizations I
joined in school. With the knowledge I gained I can better lead as I noticed I could better teach
my students in my internship. I am sure I could better teach my students because the
knowledge I gained helped me be a better leader.
Global Awareness
Through my internship I was able to attend the National FFA Convention. At the
convention I was surrounded by people from all different backgrounds. There I learned that not
one kid is the stereotype FFA member. The kids are all different, but yet they can all come
together for one reason and one cause. It was really quite amazing watching all the students
from all across the states interact with one another. There were a lot of students who have
never step foot outside of their home counties before, yet they may have traveled hundreds of
to attend the convention. I was walking through one of the hotels and watched a couple of kids
riding up and down the escalators. I asked them if they were having fun and they responded
back, weve never even seen one of these before! This is amazing! That moment right there
made me realize this is once in a lifetime experience for some of these kids. Some from the
cities, some from the suburbs, and some from the little town no one has ever heard of. It was
purely awesome to watch them come together and interact as if there were no differences
between them.
Broader Impact
In college education there are always issues and they are constantly changing. I think
the biggest issue in college education is the lack of readiness of incoming freshman. There are
so many freshmen that come into college and that have not been taught everything they need.
Universities are having to spend precious time re-teaching a lot of what they are trying to build
off of to ready the students for life.