Jaron VanHouden is a collegiate summer intern and educator for the Missouri Farmers Care Agriculture Education on the Move™ (Ag Moves) program. He grew up in southwest Missouri near Chadwick, a rural community rooted in agriculture. “I never thought I’d make a career out of it,” Jaron reflected, about enrolling in agricultural education courses and becoming a member of the Chadwick FFA chapter as a freshman in high school. He has soaked up his summer internship and sees how the experience will translate into his future career. Jaron’s agriculture journey has transformed into a purposeful pursuit to have a lasting impact on students around him.

Discovering A Career Path

Jaron discovered his passion for agriculture through agricultural education and FFA. He was actively involved in judging contests, speech competitions, and was a state proficiency winner in Equine Science-Placement. He loved serving as an officer with his peers at the chapter and area levels. “When I became an area officer, I began to see the impact our team was having on fellow members. I enjoyed mentoring younger officers as they would join our chapter officer team,” Jaron said.  The more he experienced, the more his thinking changed. “Maybe I can pursue a career in agriculture…” Jaron thought.

Discovering A Passion

Jaron left southwest Missouri to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia with the intention of completing veterinary school. “In the first year, as I job shadowed vets, I realized I would enjoy being a vet for a little while, but I wouldn’t love it for the rest of my life,” Jaron remembered. “I needed to re-evaluate my passion because something was missing.” He thought back to his FFA leadership roles, and a realization quickly formed. “I wanted to leave an impact on people,” Jaron said. He changed his major to Agricultural Education. “So far, it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made,” Jaron said.

An Effective Model for Impact

Agricultural educators often say they chose their path to help students find their home in agriculture, while agriculture students often credit their agriculture instructors for helping them find a home in the industry. In a recent conversation with Jaron, he explored this common theme. “Many students are like I was. Before high school, they have no idea what they want to become as adults. Agricultural education is a welcoming environment for students who are seeking something. The program is based on the three-circle model which effectively helps them find it with clarity,” Jaron said. “Classroom instruction presents knowledge they never knew, the Supervised Agricultural Experience helps them apply the knowledge practically, and the FFA component encourages the students to do further research and compete to prove their knowledge. These three areas come together and help students to visualize themselves in an agriculture career.”

Hands-On Classroom Experience

This summer, Jaron took his passion for agriculture into the third-grade classroom by teaching Agriculture Education on the Move™ (Ag Moves). Ag Moves is a proactive effort that brings passionate educators into classrooms across Missouri to build agricultural literacy at elementary ages. A curriculum of ten STEM-focused lessons which meet Missouri state learning objectives, and include hands-on activities, are the foundation of Ag Moves. As an Ag Moves summer intern, Jaron shared his agricultural knowledge third graders attending summer school at Columbia Public Schools and inspired members from his home FFA chapter and others to become chapter partners with the program this fall.

Discovering Relationships

“It is important to build relationships with our students. On my last day at one school, a sad student gave me a big hug. He said to me, ‘I wish you were my dad, because I don’t have one.’ That moment hit me in the heart and showed me just how impactful this program can be. When I become a teacher, I won’t just be teaching. It will be part of my job to be there for students and make a daily impact in their lives,” Jaron shared. The impact of Ag Moves on Jaron’s agriculture journey has been so great that he plans to find ways to support Ag Moves until he becomes a program partner as an agriculture education teacher.

Excited for the Future

“I can’t wait to welcome my own students into FFA and help them find their home in agriculture,” Jaron said. He is excited to be an agriculture instructor and FFA advisor in his own classroom when the first school bell rings in the fall of 2025. “I want a whole new experience,” Jaron shared. “I want to learn new things and meet new people from a different part of the state. Maybe in the future I can return home to southwest Missouri to teach and bring with me things I’ve learned somewhere else.”

Jaron serves as an ambassador for the Agricultural Education degree program at the University of Missouri-Columbia campus and is a 2024 Missouri Teach Ag Ambassador.

Ag Moves is funded through Missouri Farmers Care, a coalition of more than 40 Missouri agriculture groups. Missouri soybean farmers and their checkoff, the MFA Oil Foundation, FCS Financial and MFA Incorporated, support the program, along with contributions from Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Missouri Beef Industry Council, and the Missouri Fertilizer Control Board. To learn more, to connect your school with the program, or to become a partner, visit www.agmoves.com.