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New Northeast ag instructor has a song in her heart

New Northeast ag instructor has a song in her heart

NORFOLK, NE – Trentee Bush says horticulture “makes my heart sing,” and that is why she is excited to be teaching horticulture and agronomy at Northeast Community College.

Bush, whose friends call her Tee, said, “I want to teach the things that are of interest to me and make me excited to be in the classroom.”

In her new assignment at Northeast, she will be sharing her passion with students taking plant science, soil science, nursery greenhouse management, plant identification and plant materials.

Bush is a native of Whitman where her father managed a 13,000-acre research ranch for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She has earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNL, and is currently working on her doctorate in education administration. For the past nine years, Bush taught horticulture, leadership, math and science at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis.

Bush has a special interest in interactive landscapes for non-traditional populations, using alternative sites to grow food and improve the community.

Dean of Agriculture, Math and Science Corinne Morris said, “So many of our students are looking for ways to be diversified in their family farm operations, that giving them access to an instructor such as Tee, I think, is really going to help them understand the connection between horticulture and ag.”

Morris also commented on Bush’s work with leadership education, and is pleased that Bush plans to build soft skills education into every class she teaches.

The addition of Bush brings the number of full-time ag faculty at Northeast to 14. Morris said that ag student numbers have nearly doubled over the past 20 years and the faculty has been spread thin.

“Now we have a very qualified group of instructors, each with their own special gift, each with their own specialization. Each also has something they do on the outside that enhances their teaching and ability to provide examples,” Morris said. “This team creates better opportunities for students. If the student walks away with the best they’ve gotten from each of those faculty members, they’ll be unstoppable in the industry. They will be solving problems in the world.”

 

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