BTC agribusiness students excel at state competition

Brianna Sheehan of the Blackhawk Technical College had a stellar day competing at the Wisconsin Professional Agriculture Students Competitive Events Virtual Conference recently.

BTC Sheehan — Brianna Sheehan of the Blackhawk Technical College had a stellar day competing at the Wisconsin Professional Agriculture Students Competitive Events Virtual Conference recently.

MONROE — Blackhawk Technical College Professional Agriculture Students (PAS) competed and excelled at the Wisconsin Professional Agricultural Students (PAS) Competitive Events Virtual Conference recently. Eleven BTC students attended the conference and competed in multiple events, earning many top finishes. BTC agribusiness student, Brianna Sheehan, presented the awards as she currently serves as president over the state-wide organization.

The BTC team racked up 13 awards in the competitions (see below) and took home a few additional coveted titles as well. Those top awards include WI PAS Chapter Spirit Award, and their advisor, Dustin Williams, earned the highest marks as the WI PAS Advisor of the Year. Williams was also appointed as WI PAS Assistant State Director.

“I was very proud to watch Brianna preside over the conference in her role as state president. The entire event and the success of our students demonstrate that there are still exciting things happening despite the pandemic,” said PAS advisor and BTC Agribusiness instructor Dustin Williams.

On top of her regular coursework and activities at BTC, Sheehan spent months working with a committee to plan the virtual state-wide event. Despite the countless hours spent in Zoom meetings, she described the experience as “thrilling” and “rewarding.”

“Though the conference was online, the camaraderie with other students was very similar to that of our typical in-person conference. And, I was able to take the time to compete in two competitions during the event,” said Sheehan.

As Sheehan prepared for her first contest, Impromptu Speaking, the Monroe Campus experienced an internet outage. Quick on her feet, Sheehan pulled the conference up on her smartphone just in time to compete, earning second place. She said, “These things happen, and I was so proud of how our students responded, adapted, and overcame that obstacle.”

Sheehan isn’t the only one who performed well at the conference.

In addition to the individual events, Casey Bennett, Ryan Stilen, and Denise Rankin also placed third as a team in the event, Crops Specialist.

The mission of PAS is to provide individual growth, leadership, and career preparation opportunities for professional agriculture students.

Sheehan has seen firsthand the mission in motion. “After competing in these competitions, I feel more confident. Before I was a part of Professional Agriculture Students (PAS), I was shy; if you were to meet me now, you would never have guessed it! I cannot stress enough how many amazing technical, professional, and interpersonal skills I have developed through the PAS organization.”

The BTC Agribusiness program exemplifies this mission each day as they continue to provide valuable hands-on learning in a state-of-the-art flexible learning lab in Monroe. The program offers the following educational options:

● Associate of Applied Science — Agribusiness Science/Technology

● Technical Diploma — Agribusiness Specialist

● Technical Diploma — Farm Business and Production Management

For more information about the Professional Agriculture Students, contact advisor Dustin Williams at dwilliams61@blackhawk.edu or visit https://blackhawk.edu/Student-Resources/Student-Life/Student-Organizations.