“There’s a moment, when a student lights their first welding arc, gets an engine to fire up, or completes a project they never thought they could do—where you see their confidence click into place. That spark is why I teach.”
Jerry Agan teaches agricultural mechanics at Elizabethton High School in Elizabethton, TN. His passion for skilled trades and hands-on work started young with welding lessons from his father, an electrician and HVAC technician. He holds a B.S. in Agriculture with a concentration in Education from Tennessee Tech, has completed the Lincoln Electric Instructor School, and the Briggs & Stratton Vocational Educator Course at Clemson. As someone who has lived their entire life in the Appalachian mountains, his goal as a teacher has always focused on giving rural students the tools to build a better life.
Since starting to work at the school in 2020, Agan has built the Ag Mechanics program from the ground up. This includes acquiring the tools and machinery to execute a curriculum rooted in project-based learning. Students apply what they learn through hands-on, real-world projects that serve the school and local community—like building trailers, installing playground equipment, and constructing a shot-put field for the athletics program. Agan’s shop runs like a business, with students managing every aspect of the process from design and budgeting to fabrication and customer communication. Students also have many opportunities to showcase their knowledge and skills by participating in both SkillsUSA and National FFA. These experiences build leadership, professionalism, and confidence, while connecting students with a national network of peers and industry leaders. Agan has seen his students’ lives change following graduation from his program and believes his greatest success is to see them take their first steps toward stability, financial independence, and a life of which they can be proud.
Notes of Excellence
- Agan’s students put their skills to use to benefit their school district, building a regulation shot-put field for the track team and designing and welding a playground set for a local elementary school.
- Every student in Agan’s program earns their OSHA-10 certification and can gain additional industry-recognized credentials, preparing them for immediate entry to the workforce or for further education in their chosen field.
- 80 percent of Agan’s program completers transition into skilled trades employment, college programs, apprenticeships or military service within six months of graduation.
In 2024, Agan was named Teacher of the Year by the Tennessee Association for Career and Technical Education. He was previously a finalist for the 2024 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence.