Patricia \u201cPat\u201d Jepson\u2019s history with UConn spans several decades \u2013 from her time as a high school student to her retirement in 2017. Throughout her career, Jepson worked to promote excellence and diversity in Connecticut’s agricultural education programs \u2013 a commitment she maintains even now.<\/p>\n
As a student at Wilson High School (now Middletown High School), Jepson was involved in her school\u2019s agriculture program and took UConn co-op credits. Jepson, a first-generation college student, went on to study animal science at UConn.<\/p>\n
Jepson was originally on the pre-veterinary track, but moved into the agricultural education program after learning the impact she could have.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a program that has a very holistic approach to education and personal growth,\u201d Jepson says. \u201c[The program] had an impact on me, and that was something I wanted to be involved in from the other side, impacting others and helping others in a similar way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jepson graduated with her bachelor\u2019s degree in animal science in 1978 and her master\u2019s in 1981 from the UConn School of Education, later renamed after Ray Neag to honor his $23 million gift to the School.<\/p>\n
After completing UConn\u2019s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG), Jepson taught in Connecticut before moving to Ohio to work for a veterinarian. But opportunities soon pulled her back to Connecticut. In 1988, Jepson returned to UConn as the director of the Academic Advisory Center for the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources<\/a> (CAHNR).<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like a way to put together the educational background and perspective that I had with the content, my love of agriculture and all the broad fields, and my connection to UConn,\u201d Jepson says.<\/p>\n Advancing Agricultural Education <\/strong><\/p>\n High school agricultural programs differ significantly from other subjects. Connecticut\u2019s agricultural education programs have a three-pronged approach that involves experiential education, leadership development, and career readiness. The nature of these programs also relies on greater family and community involvement.<\/p>\n The inter-connected fields within agriculture are also intrinsically applicable to daily concerns surrounding food, health, and the environment.<\/p>\n \u201c[Agriculture] isn\u2019t isolated. It is so interconnected with human concerns, as well as science concerns, and policy decisions \u2014 so many different things that relate,\u201d Jepson says.<\/p>\n During her time at UConn, Jepson played a major role in increasing the profile of Connecticut’s agricultural education program. The program was less visible in Connecticut and nationally until Jepson began reaching out to high school teachers and students in agriculture programs across the state and getting involved in national organizations.<\/p>\n Jepson was recently honored for her dedication to the field with a lifetime achievement award from the American Association for Agricultural Education. Awardees support the organization\u2019s mission to \u201cfoster excellence in the discovery and exchange of evidence-based solutions for social science challenges in agriculture and related sciences.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGetting the award was sort of an acknowledgment of the program at UConn even more so than of me, but certainly knowing that I had a big impact on that,\u201d Jepson says.<\/p>\n A Lifelong Commitment to Diversity <\/strong><\/p>\n Jepson is driven by a commitment to meaningful human connection and helping others. Part of this commitment has involved Jepson\u2019s championing the importance of diversity throughout her career.<\/p>\n During her master\u2019s program, Jepson taught in Hartford Public Schools, exposing her to students with diverse backgrounds.<\/p>\n \u201cThat really was so meaningful for me, that I felt that awareness and desire to impact a broader audience, and knowing education is so important for people\u2019s lives in the long term,\u201d Jepson says. \u201cThe impact of the Hartford experience stayed with me throughout my whole career.\u201d<\/p>\n Through her position at CAHNR, Jepson worked with students in the two-year, associates of applied science program at Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture. Working with more non-traditional students underscored the importance of looking beyond a high school transcript for Jepson.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you see on paper is only part of who someone is,\u201d Jepson says. \u201cSeeing that growth in students who other people may not have seen the potential in and knowing they had opportunities was very meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n Jepson would attend meetings at the African American Cultural Center and listen as Black students shared, intentionally exposing herself to and learning about a culture she is not part of.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking advantage of these opportunities to learn made me, I hope, more valuable and a resource to other people.\u201d<\/p>\n