Alumni Spotlight: Scott Sharp ’92

[ACEL]: Hi Scott!Why did you select your major?
[Sharp]: I chose agricultural education because I grew up on a farm and I always loved helping out and being involved in agriculture.  Once I got to high school and began taking agriculture classes, I realized I could join my love of agriculture and my passion of working with kids together.

Why did you choose to attend The Ohio State University?
I chose to attend The Ohio State University because both my mom and my dad had gone to Ohio State and I had grown up going to Ohio State football games as a kid.  I attended my first Ohio State vs. Michigan game when I was 10 years old in 1980.  Also my Dad had made the OSU football team in 1965 under Woody Hayes and I wanted to try and do the same myself.  I was on the OSU football team from 1988 to 1990 under Coach John Cooper. Finally, and probably the most important reason, was I wanted to become an agricultural educator and OSU is where I wanted to earn my degree to accomplish this goal.

How did your education at Ohio State influence your choice of career or your career path?
I know that with an agricultural education degree it is certainly possible to follow many different career paths.  However, I have always loved working with kids and also with agriculture.  With my agricultural education this allowed me to do both.

You were on the football team, did this leave time for you to be involved in any other student life activities?
I was on the football team for three years – 1988, 1989 and 1990.  This pretty much required my full attention and really didn’t leave much time for anything else.

What classes did you enjoy the most while at Ohio State? What was your favorite and why?
I loved my agriculture classes and also history.  I took several history electives while at OSU and really enjoyed all of them.  I now have a master of social science degree as well as my B.S. in agricultural education.  My two favorite classes were my welding class with Dr. Paperiton and my American military policy class with Dr. Millett.  Agriculture and history have always been my passions.

Did you have a faculty member or advisor who played an especially important role to you as a student?
Dr. Cano and Dr. Barrick both had the most impact on my educational career.  Without their guidance and counseling I’m pretty sure I would not be where I am at today.  

What is your favorite memory related to your time at Ohio State?
The memory that comes to mind quickest was the first home OSU football game and being in the locker room waiting to go out onto the field and hearing the noise of the crowd get louder and louder as game time got closer.  It was a really tight crush of all the players out of the locker room and then out across the end zone.  I was so scared to not fall as we were going out of the locker room and onto the field that I never looked up until I was about half way across the end zone, and then WOW!  100,000 people all cheering and the stadium full of fans and the noise.  I’ll never forget it.  Amazing!  

What was your first job following your education at Ohio State?
My wife and I both worked at the Owens Corning Tech Center in Granville Ohio as lab technicians before each of us got our first jobs in the agricultural education and extension fields.

Share the different positions you’ve had throughout your career.
I have taught for the Amanda-Clearcreek High School for the last 24 years.  Before that I worked as a substitute teacher for the Henry County Schools.  I also worked at a grain elevator before that and also for the Owens Corning Tech Center as a lab technician.

During your career, have you received any awards or honors?
I’ve never really put much stock in personal awards.  I’ve earned a few over the years, but I would much rather prefer to have my students be successful and earn awards through their hard work and dedication than for me to get any kind of personal awards.

As of today, what is your favorite career highlight?
The best two days of my career were a few years ago when I had three students win the State public speaking CDE and my fourth student was in the top ten finalists, all on the same day.  We literally won three of the four categories in the contest.  The second highlight day of my career was when two of those same students went on the next fall to place second and third in the nation in the Prepared and Extemporaneous speaking categories at the national contest, again both on the same day.  I’m not sure if this has ever been done before but it was certainly a great day to remember.

What advice would you give to a current student?
Be patient.  Work hard and do things the right way.  If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

What did ACEL cultivate in you? How?
Energy, passion and a desire to be the best teacher I can possibly be.  Also to never stop learning and improving on your career.