Elizabeth Berner, a master's degree student, and Chris Estepp, associate professor, both in the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology, and food science instructor Morgan Denzer received awards at the recent North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture conference in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Berner and Denzer received the NACTA Graduate Teaching Award while Estepp earned the 2023 Teaching Scholar Award.

Several AECT faculty and instructors also presented research.

• Berner presented research on how social media simulations can be used to prepare students for internships and job opportunities; co-authors were assistant professor Casandra Cox and former graduate assistant Daniela Medina.
• Instructor Isabel Whitehead-Adams presented on students' preferences, types of experiences and perceived barriers to participating in international program opportunities; co-authors were clinical associate professor Lisa Wood and graduate assistant Karli Yarber.
• Assistant professor William Doss on how the reputation of a university influences student decisions to attend; co-authors were Estepp and graduate assistant Hiliary Viguet.
• Cox presented on using agricultural industry perspectives on graduate career preparedness leading to curriculum development recommendations in order to strengthen communication related employability skills; the primary author was former graduate assistant Madelaine Giebler, and U of A co-authors were Cox, associate professor Jill Rucker, professor Jeff Miller and graduate assistant Hannah Ferguson.
• Estepp presented on perceived isolation among first-year students entering a college of agricultural, food and life sciences, to determine the relationship between isolation and student perceptions of peer support, faculty support and faculty empathy; co-authors were Doss and University Professor Don Johnson.

All students and faculty members are in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

NACTA is professional society focusing on the scholarship of teaching and learning agriculture and related disciplines at the postsecondary level.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.