Sara Burke: From student to agricultural education leader
Former student transforms lives through floral science and inspires new educators
In the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, students are being set up for lasting, successful careers as agricultural educators. With a national shortage of these vital educators, the department’s efforts to train capable, passionate teachers is more important than ever.
The Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications has a rich history of producing not just agricultural teachers, but nurturing Aggie educators who lead and inspire others to teach. Part of that legacy is teacher Sara Burke, a proud Aggie from the classes of 2013 and 2015.
“I’m an ag teacher because of the incredible impact my own ag teachers had on me,” shared Burke. “Honestly, I cannot imagine doing anything else other than teaching agriculture.”
Furthermore, the legacy she is creating within the next generation is starting to multiply as her former students are now starting to return as colleagues.
“It feels surreal and incredibly rewarding to see my students now teaching agriculture themselves,” Burke said. “It is the most rewarding experience you can ever imagine.”
A passion for teaching floral science
To those unfamiliar with agricultural education, it may seem the teachers focus solely on animal and crop science, but the classes cover everything from mechanics to welding, horticulture to aquaculture, robotics to biotechnology and a wide range of topics in between.
Burke, for example, teaches floral science. Over her decade at James E. Taylor High School in Katy, she has seen the agriculture department grow from three teachers to six.
“When I first started, we only had three floral classes,” she said. “This year, we have 12 sections of floral science.”
Her dedication was recently recognized when she was named the top secondary teacher in the Katy Independent School District and went on to represent her district in the regional competition. Burke’s passion for floral science also led her to advocate for including floral design competitions in last year’s Katy ISD Livestock Show.
“They have a bucket of flowers and an hour to make a design,” she said. “It’s like Tim Gunn – make it work.”
Applying what they have learned in the classroom and then applying it to real life is an experience like no other for the students, she said. Just like the kids who show livestock, floral design participants can earn scholarships based on their performance and sell their arrangements at the show.
“If you attend the Houston Livestock Show this year, go up to the second floor,” she said. “There’s more going on than ag kids showing livestock. There are so many different opportunities in ag and we need to celebrate all of them.”
Finding FFA as a freshman
“I really fell in love with FFA as a freshman,” Burke said. “That changed my path.”
The National FFA Organization was something she stayed deeply involved in throughout high school including holding leadership roles within the organization.
“My ag teacher helped me go from the shy girl who could barely look at people when she spoke to someone who loved public speaking,” she said. “One great teacher can absolutely change someone’s life, and I thought to myself, ‘I want to be that for someone else.’”
Her ag teacher was Steve Forsythe, Ph.D., who was inducted into the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas Hall of Fame in 2021.
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today if he didn’t see the leadership potential inside me that I didn’t even recognize in myself,” she said. Burke said Forsythe was also an incredible mentor to student teachers and she embraces that role herself now.
Texas 4-H Roundup led her to Texas A&M
Burke’s path in agricultural education strengthened when she qualified in livestock judging for Texas 4-H Roundup in 2006. Growing up in a small town, Burke described how she was initially overwhelmed by the sheer size of the College Station campus.
Jason Byrd, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agriculture and natural resources agent for Lampasas County at the time, made sure Burke’s 4-H team toured every campus they visited.
“I remember he took us to the Bonfire Memorial as the sun was setting,” she said. “It was one of those moments in time you look back at and recognize as a turning point in your life.”
Burke said being surrounded by Texas A&M students and former students made her realize if a university could come together to create something like the Bonfire Memorial, then it was a community she wanted to be a part of.
“I saw the true spirit of the school, and it is something that lasts beyond four years – that spirit lasts a lifetime,” Burke said.
From that moment, she knew she would find a way to attend Texas A&M and become an ag educator.
Burke was not only the first in her immediate family to graduate from college but she also went on to earn her master’s in agriculture education as well. She even met her husband, Tyler, at Texas A&M when they were both Howdy Camp counselors. They now have a daughter, Riley.
“One moment can change your life,” she said. “If I hadn’t gotten that informal tour of campus, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I want to help other students find a moment through agricultural education where they realize their own spark.”
