Shinobi Horikawa
AAEC - South Mountain
Supervising Practitioner: Mr. Kevin Norris
![Shinobi Horikawa Headshot](https://agriculture.arizona.edu/sites/aed.cals.arizona.edu/files/styles/uaqs_fixed_width/public/Shinobi%20Horikawa%5B1%5D_0.jpg?itok=ojb_t6ZX)
Why I Teach Agriculture?
I believe that students need a nurturing learning environment to become the best versions of themselves. I know this because I was one of the countless students that needed that type of environment. I entered high school without confidence in my academic abilities or my potential for career success. My agricultural education teachers helped build my confidence by teaching me new skills and building on my strengths as a person. They played a big role in building up my confidence, which empowered me beyond belief. By the time I graduated from high school, I achieved numerous goals, like winning a state CDE and earning my state degree. I want to create an environment where students feel confidence in their ability to attain academic and personal success. A student can be empowered through small actions like presenting a speech to a four-person group, caring for a fruit tree in the school land lab, showing an animal at a fair for the first time, and welding two pieces of metal together. I believe that agricultural education will give me that opportunity to empower the next generation of leaders and I cannot wait to see what is in store for the next generation of leaders.