Introducing Ms. Elizabeth Holtry

Where I Come From

Mimi and Pappy

    As the #psuaged23 cohort begins this crazy journey toward student teaching I think it is best to start with the basics: An introduction. My name is Elizabeth Holtry, and mostly I am known as Liz. I am from a small town, Roxbury, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Others may say I'm from Newburg, Pennsylvania, or even Chambersburg. That's the thing about the area, it all sort of comes together as a community. 

    I graduated from Chambersburg Area Senior High School in 2020 with a class of approximately 500 after spending my senior year taking classes for dual enrollment at Penn State Mont Alto. About 45 minutes down Black Gap Road and Route 997 you will find a small family farm in another small town, Upper Strasburg, Pennsylvania. This is where Ag started for me. 

   

On that small farm in Upper Strasburg is where my grandparents, Shirley and Donald Holtry, raised my father, Troy, and my uncle, Travis. They bought the farm in the mid 70s after the original Holtry farm was sold down the road. They started the farm with some dairy beef, but by the time I came around in 2002 my grandparents had moved on to just enough beef to get the family by and Suffolk sheep. It was these steers and sheep that would spark my passion for agriculture. Growing up and helping to take care of the animals was always more fun than a chore for me. With role models like my grandparents (Mimi and Pappy) I dreamed of being half as hard of a worker on my own farm someday. Between trying to ride the sheep on the days we were sheering and chasing the steers when they go out it seems like my childhood memories are full of great adventures. 

    My parents, Troy and Diane, are also a constant inspiration to my work ethic and to make an impact on the Ag industry. I grew up hunting and fishing with my family as well as traveling with family and friends to camp and hike to see the beautiful scenery. My father being a logger added lots of knowledge and fun to our time spent in the outdoors. I have spent many hours in the woods learning from his wide array of knowledge and enjoyed applying it in the FFA Forestry Contest. 

    So, if you've made it through the first few paragraphs you might be asking yourself, So why didn't she just become a forester? And in the beginning of high school I would have completely agreed with you. However, between FFA public speaking events and years spent with my mom serving as liturgist to lead worship as well as other activities at Otterbein United Methodist Church I had developed this passion to speak and teach in front of people. In 2017 I had the opportunity to come here to Penn State and get a tour from some of the AEE (Agricultural and Extension Education) students. From that day forward I have been tagged to teach Ag and have looked forward to calling an Ag classroom my home. 

Chambersburg FFA

I joined FFA in 8th grade at our middle school. I was excited to get the chance to showcase my knowledge and skills because not many students in Chambersburg come from an Ag background. This was a great opportunity because most of the time I  felt out of place and different from a lot of my classmates. I feel very lucky looking back to have fallen into such a great space. I found my place in the Ag department at Chambersburg and I have been inspired to become an Agricultural Educator by Mr. Byers, Ms. Walburn, Mrs. Stottelmyer, and Mr. Parsons over and over again during my years spent in the FFA. They worked together to create an amazing experience in the organization for me. Through Leadership and Career development, my time in the FFA has definitely influenced who I am as a person today. I got the chance to broaden my knowledge through competitions like the Department 35 Tractor Restoration at Farm Show, where I was able to help restore tractors for four years, or our community service projects where we learned by doing and gleaned fields for those in need. 

My Paps Ford 8N Restored at PA Farm Show

Beidel Brothers Dairy

At the beginning of high school I spent my free time trimming Christmas Trees at Elliot's Tree Farm, which I had enjoyed doing since I was 12. I had learned a lot by working in the field and in the greenhouse there, and I decided I wanted to get more experience in the Ag industry. A great family from my church asked if I would want to help them milk. Beidel Brother's Dairy consisted of about 180 Holsteins and grew to include Jersey's and Brown Swiss while I was there. I was able to milk there for 3 years and loved getting to expand my knowledge of animal science. My role models on the farm held so much knowledge, it was an honor to learn from them even if just for a short time. The experience as a whole left me feeling that I had a whole other family and I still enjoy visiting the farm and my favorite cows.

Franklin County Fair

    I have had the chance to serve on the Franklin Co Junior Fair Board since it began in 2018. I served as their secretary for 2 years and I have loved being more involved and helping to add to our fair. I love the fair so much that in 2020 I decided to run for fair queen. I was honored to receive Franklin County Fair Queen Alternate and had an amazing year developing my leadership skills and advocating for the local Ag industry. 

Penn State

If you can follow this backward timeline of events, then you knew this was next! I am currently a first semester junior here at Penn State University Park. I enjoy spending my time working on school work as well as contributing to my internship with the Global Teach Ag Network. Through my internship I have learned a lot about website design and using social media for business-like communication through preparing for our community of #GLAG22. I hope to use some of this in my classroom one day!

Where to Next?

"You've made it!" I think that is a good representation of how the whole cohort felt going into our junior year. However, to our dismay, the end may be in sight, yet we have so much work to do to get to student teaching. Despite the long journey we have so many amazing experiences to come. I know I am especially looking forward to choosing what I want in a cooperating center. I hope you all look forward to following along with my Agricultural Education journey since you now know me so well! I look forward to reviewing this post in a year and seeing a lot of growth both in content and teaching preparation. 

Here's to part of the Whole Tree,

Elizabeth Holtry