My name is Willow McPeek. I grew up in the small rural town of Cortland. When I was 12 we moved to an even smaller town, Genoa. I have grown up playing sports and being very involved in student extracurriculars. I did cheerleading for 10 years and softball for 6 years. My parents and siblings are also involved in sports both as athletes and coaches. My involvement and seeing my parents take leadership roles helped me build leadership skills, while also learning how to work well with a team. I have been involved in my school a lot since entering high school. I currently serve as the Secretary of our FFA Chapter. I am also the Secretary/Treasurer of our National Honor Society. I love being able to help my school and make it a place worth going to. I participate in many other school extracurriculars including student council, senior class, educators raising, and yearbook. Teaching to me came as second nature. I love helping others in classes and leading group projects. Teaching the youth of America is a very important aspect that goes into how they grow as humans moving forward. Agricultural Education has many lessons that we touch on to help students find what they enjoy. In my senior year, I am doing workplace experience with my current Agricultural Education teacher and I have learned so much about students just in one semester. Seeing how they interact with each other and how each class could be different helps me so much. Watching students develop into the students they want to be. I have watched students flourish in different types of lessons and within different learning environments. I see how students learn differently and it intrigues me more and more every day. For the past two years, I have been in an internship with Highland Community College which has expanded my learning extensively. I have created lesson plans, taught, and about 150 hours of internship experience. This has led me to yearn more and more to teach the youth. In 2018, 2019, and 2021 I volunteered with our local Football and Cheer program as a student demonstration coach. I got to work with young girls who had a passion for the same sport I did. I got to experience the workings of young kids. I saw what it was like to teach and it made me so happy. Seeing the excitement in these girls' eyes is what made my passion for teaching grow even more.

My name is Willow McPeek. I grew up in the small rural town of Cortland. When I was 12 we moved to another small town, Genoa. I have grown up playing sports and being very involved in student extracurriculars. I have done cheerleading for ten years and softball for six years. My parents and siblings are also involved in sports both as athletes and coaches. My involvement and seeing my parents take leadership roles helped me build leadership skills, while also learning how to work well with a team. I have been involved in my school a lot since entering high school. I currently serve as the Secretary of our FFA Chapter. I am also the Secretary/Treasurer of our National Honor Society. I love being able to help my school and make it a place worth going to. I participate in many other school extracurriculars including student council, senior class, educators raising, and yearbook. Animals have been in my life for as long as I remember. From the pigeons, bunnies, and chickens I had at my house, to the cattle, pigeons, ducks, sheep, donkeys, etc. at my grandparents. At my home, I worked a lot with my father on chores with the pigeons and bunnies. Getting them food and water every day after school. This helped me gain discipline and responsibility. My favorite animal has to be cattle. My grandparents used to have a dairy farm up until 2005, then it switched to beef cattle. I love going to their farm and seeing all the babies being born and how they interact with each other. One of my favorite days to go to the farm was when they were doing pregnancy checks, shots, and deworming. I found these days fascinating due to the vet's findings about pregnant cattle. Watching him check them and be able to tell exactly when they will be born was fascinating to me. When I did Agricultural Sales for the first time we did a deworming brand and when I connected the dots, I felt more connected with the cattle. I love watching the cattle graze in the fields. I could sit and watch them from the widows of the house for hours. Sometimes I wish I could live on the farm. All I know is that I wish to continue the family farm no matter the cost because they matter so much to me. Having this experience growing up did not click at first. Once I moved from my old house with the animals to where I live now and could not have livestock anymore I missed the life I had. Entering my first Agricultural Education class I realized that I never had to lose my connection with animals. I currently take care of our chickens and fish in our agricultural department. This past weekend I helped give birth to eleven baby piglets in our shop at the school. This experience made me so happy and helped me understand what agriculture was for me.

Finding a pathway that works for you moving forward is extremely hard with no guidance. I struggled to get help at home. My parents worked full-time jobs, and I had two younger siblings to care for. Being at school was my way to get help and find what I was good at. I want to be the teacher that students can come to and find help in their crazy lives. I want to help them relate their everyday lives to a career that they can be good at. Everyone has something they are good at, it could be writing, speaking, working, etc. We just have to take the time and see each student's potential and help them pursue a career they can be proud of. Helping people has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From church mission trips to volunteering at my local food hub. The well-being and future of everyone brings me joy and I hope that helping students realize their potential inspires all.