Jessica's Journal

Reflective Paragraph

2008-12-02T15:32:00.001-05:00

J.Feder
12/2/08

Reflective Paragraph

As I look back on my e-portfolio and class time, I realize that I learned a lot about leadership especially during the class on motivation. I also am glad that I had the experience of creating an e-portfolio in the form of a blog. I also understand the value of being able to network and connect with employers, anytime via the e-portfolio’s accessibility. Class was interesting with all of activities and group work. As dumb as “the smart puppy” was, I will never forget that assignment and that class.

Journal Entry 7

2008-12-02T15:27:00.004-05:00

J.Feder
11/22/08

Journal Entry 7 for Ag Leadership

I don’t know if this particular topic for this journal entry pertains to our class but here it goes anyway. The election is over, the votes counted. Our nation has decided on our new leader. Congratulations, Barack Obama. During the campaign we heard the candidates promise everything under the sun, if we only voted for them. One major promise from both candidates was a better health care system. It was found out that each proposed health care “fix” would cost so much money that there would be deficits in the long run. What I would like to know is how we can vote or voted for a candidate to become our nation leader if they don’t have all the information to make a knowledgeable decision. How good of a leader are they going to be if they can’t tell that if you propose a 2 million dollar health care plan that we only have a half million dollars for, that we are going to be short? That would mean the money has to come from somewhere else, right? So how do they propose to do that without raising taxes, something else both candidates mentioned that they would not do? The second issue I have concerning this past election year is the issue of mudslinging. As a candidate for our nation’s leader, it really reflects badly on our country if you are constantly bad mouthing the other candidate. Anyway, that is all I have to say and like I said, was not sure if it applies for this class.

Journal Entry 6

2008-12-02T15:26:00.001-05:00

J.Feder
11/12/08

Journal Entry 6 for Ag Leadership

For this journal entry, I was supposed to research the web for a crisis that an organization is experiencing. Upon finding such information, I was to use that information to answer the following questions. Who is the leader in alleviating the crisis and what skills/ expertise do they bring? How does the leader involve the followers? How does the leader create a work place favorable to crisis prevention? Last but not least, the influence of integrity and ethical decision making in solving the problem. I found many crises within organizations but my research was unable to specifically answer the questions above. I found that the S.P.C.A., Blood Blank, and Food Bank all have crisis. The common factor in all of these organizations is a lack of money. These non-profit organizations run on donations and during these hard economic times many people cannot afford to donate, bringing the overall cash flow of the organizations down. This in turn causes the organizations to cut many services that are good for the community. The organization(s) prevents this crisis and/or manage it by taking a proactive role- by calling people for donations, mailing out donation request forms, and applying for grant money. Each of the organizations is also experiencing crises that pertain only to them. For example- S.P.C.A’s around the country are filled to the brim with unwanted animals and many of them are put to sleep needlessly. This is due to several reasons. Many of these animals are a result of previous animals not being spayed or neutered. Others are survivors of abuse and abandonment. The S.P.C.A. deals with these crises by educating the public to spay/neuter their pets and also by raising awareness of animal cruelty and the cost of providing for the animals. The blood bank and food bank also fare the crisis of not having enough flood and blood. They try to prevent it and solve it in the same steps as the S.P.C.A. does- education and awareness. In short all organizations have crises but it takes not just a leader, but everyone to prevent/solve them.

Fall Colors!

2008-10-23T14:05:00.006-04:00

Went to the Poconos Mountains and surrounding areas to see the fall colors and here are some of my pictures. I really like the texture on the bark one and the red trees.

Journal Entry 5

2008-10-16T13:23:00.002-04:00

J.Feder
10/14/08

Journal Entry 5 for Ag Leadership

I work at Wally’s World and I recently had a conflict with my supervisor Annie over her attitude towards me. I did not feel comfortable addressing her directly about the issue so I followed company policy and went to the next level of management, which is the assistant manager over our department. I approached Laura and asked her, that when she had a moment if I could please speak with her in private. She agreed and later that week we went to her office and had a conversation. Laura was very understanding of my situation and told me that she would resolve my problem by speaking to Annie privately. When I came back to work after my days off, I noticed that Annie was a lot more polite and respectful of how she treats me. I have not had too much of a problem since then. I am confident that I can handle other conflicts at Wally’s World should they arise.

Journal Entry 4

2008-10-16T12:27:00.002-04:00

J.Feder
10/14/08

Journal Entry 4 for Ag Leadership

This week, in my journal, I am supposed to write about a service-learning activity in which I have participated in. Just looking at the term, service-learning is making me draw a blank on this subject. I decide to Google the term service-learning activity. I learned that service-learning is considered helping someone and learning. For example, a student volunteering to collect water samples for the water department and then studying the samples is service learning. Just to be sure I was on the right track; I consulted my teacher Mrs. Kidd. She mentioned to me that what she considered service-learning is helping with Special Olympics and learning how to communicate with the Olympians is service learning. With that in mind, I recall my time on the safety team at Wal-mart, where I work. I was servicing the store by conducting safety checks & safety supply levels, providing my co-workers a safer place to work. I learned from this how to brainstorm, communicate, and work with management and other co-workers as well as how to be safe.

Applied Ecology Assignment 2

2008-10-15T15:55:00.006-04:00

This is an assignment for my Applied Ecology Class that I got an A on.

J. Feder
9/20/08

Applied Ecology Assignment 2

I visited Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge several times during a long weekend. The weather for my visit was windy and rainy but comfortable temperature wise. I also had the refuge mainly to myself during my visits in the mid-morning to early evening. On my way to the refuge, I notice that the land surrounding it is used in many different ways. I passed many residential homes, a farm stand, a golf course, woods, and agricultural fields. Turning on to the road heading into the refuge I noticed a large bird flying above- I think it is a turkey buzzard (see picture 1). Approaching the entrance, I was greeting by a signing identifying the refuge (see picture 2). Entering the refuge I passed the gate noticing a sign to my right cautioning me to slow down – endangered slow crossing. I noticed that the entrance to the park was surrounded by woods on both sides (see picture 3 & 4). Driving through the refuge on my way to the visitor center, I noticed another road which I found out later leads to two freshwater ponds and a hiking trail called the Pine Grove Trail (see picture 5). Continuing my drive to the center, I noticed transition zones in the refuge. The woods were starting to fall back and show a little tall grass (see Picture 6). Still heading to the visitor center, I pass another trail entrance, this one for the Black Farm Trail (see picture 7). I keep traveling and notice that the refuge is giving away to tall grassy fields as I approach the visitor center (see picture 8). I also notice bird nesting boxes nestled in the woods/fields by the road (see picture 9). I am getting closer to the visitor center and I notice a group of songbirds perched on the electric wire (see picture 10). I am finally at the visitor center and I head inside to find out information about the refuge (see pictures 11 & 12). I signed in at the visitor center and spoked to Mary, a volunteer, about the information I need. She was very helpful in telling and finding me the information I needed. I found out that the refuge's 10,000 acres are a diverse landscape featuring freshwater and salt marshes, woodlands, grasslands, scrub-brush habitats, ponds, bottomland forested areas, a 7 mile long creek, and agricultural lands. These cover types provide habitat for approximately 267 species of birds, 35 species of reptiles and amphibians and 36 different mammals. I found out that the refuge is home to American beavers, gray foxes, mink, river otters, muskrats, gray squirrel, white tailed deer, and cotton-tail rabbit. The refuge is also home to several endangered/threatened species such as the DELMARVA fox squirrel (see picture 13), bald eagles, and wild turkeys. Besides being home to the following mammals and endangered species, the refuge is a home for several invasive species. They are nutria and phragmites. Prime Hook is a major home for migrating and native birds. The refuge has wood ducks, red-breasted merganser, ruddy ducks, pied- billed grebe, green-winged teal, American black duck, mallard, great blue heron, snowy egret, snow geese, American kestrel, king rail, western sandpiper, American golden Plover, laughing gull, black tern, eastern screech owl, downy wood pecker, blue jays, purple martins, eastern bluebird and many more. In fact, the refuge is THE place to be for bird watching. I also found out that the refuge is home to numerous insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, dragonflies, biting flies and more. The refuge also is a home to fish and crabs such as bluegill, trout, bass and horseshoe crabs. The refuge also provides a home to numerous retiles and amphibians such as painted and box turtles, cottonmouth snakes, black snakes, frogs, toads, lizards and salamanders. The refuge has numerous plant species such as sweet gum, red maple, black walnut, wild grape, hackberry, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, American Holly, black tupelo, loblolly pine, black cherry, white oak, red oak and many others. Also inside the visitors center is several display cases with several of the animals/ plants I mentioned above (See pictures 14-24). Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge has many things to do. Environmental education and interpretation is offered through teacher training and volunteer led field trips, an outing to the refuge can enhance learning about nature and management for wildlife. Exhibits and films are available at the Visitor Contact Station; a small auditorium that seats about 25-30 is available for pre-scheduled programs (see picture 25). Also educational and interpretive materials such as interpretive pamphlets for hiking can be picked up at the Visitor Center. The refuge also offers fishing, hunting, and wildlife observation and photography through the use of walking/hiking, canoeing/kayaking trails. There are four hiking trails and one canoe trail. Leaving the visitor center, I can see some of the marshes and purple martin houses (see pictures 26 & 27). I head to the boat ramp and dike trail (1 mile round –trip through the marsh) first where I notice a blue heron (see pictures 28-29). I also notice fish bubbles, scum, and leaf debris in the creek. I startled a white goose and I watch it fly out over the marshes. The boat ramp is also the start of the canoe trail which I had to leave for another time. I then proceed to walk the boardwalk trail (1/2 mile loop) through uplands and across 600 feet of freshwater marsh. I come across a cotton-tailed rabbit and a huge spider web with a giant spider on it (see pictures 30 & 31). I continue down the trail and encounter a sign that says watch for groundhogs holes. Crossing a bridge, I come across a tree stump with pretty coloring (see picture 32) and continue on my way through the forest heading towards the marsh (see Picture 33 & 34). Arriving at the marsh I see three white egrets, arrow head, and a seed pod on a plant I can’t identify (see pictures 35-39). Traveling on, I come across the entrance to the blue goose trail (1.4 miles- raised dike connector trail through marsh and forest (see picture 40). I saved that trail for another time when I can walk better. Continuing on, I enter the forest again and immediately come across plants being identified by markers with one of the plants being wild grape (see pictures 41-47). I also see a song bird hanging around the grapes. Getting back in my car, I head for the black farm trail (1.2 mile round trip along wooded uplands adjacent to agricultural lands and freshwater marsh). I did not see any animals on this hike other than daddy longlegs and mosquitoes. Although I did come across an interesting marker show what deer tracks look like (see pictures 48- 51). I head to the last trail in the refuge called pine grove trail (.8 mile loop through pine/hardwood forest adjacent to Fleetwood and Turkle Ponds) (see pictures 52-54). I come across Turkle pond (see pictures 55 & 56 where another visitor told me that they saw wild turkeys in the shrubs across the pond. I also saw a monarch butterfly floating around. Continuing down the road I spot mushrooms growing along the side of the road (see pictures 57 & 58). I walk out to Fleetwood Pond before hitting the trail and see a turtle sunning itself (see pictures 59-63). I hit the trail and come across nature’s way of slowing you down (see pictures 64- 67). Further down the trail I walk out to the observation platform and observe the marshes and see another bird box (see picture 68-70). I head back to my car and go home reflecting on what I’ve seen. I discover that Prime Hook means a lot to me for the opportunities to see wildlife in their natural habitat.

Note: Not all picture from this assignment are posted online and all pictures are in order and at the top of the post.

Courses Remaining

2008-10-02T21:11:00.003-04:00

}AGS 104 –Intro. to Agribusiness Management
}AGS 232- Horticulture Cooperative
}AGS 221- Turfgrass Equipment Management
}MKT 111- Salesmanship

}Additional Courses:
}AGS 207- Floriculture
}AGS 240- Hydroponics Production

Courses in Progress

2008-10-02T21:00:00.002-04:00

}AGS 215- Agriculture Leadership
}AGS 223- Applied Ecology
}AGS 203- Landscape Plans & Plant Materials
}OAT 157- Word Level 1

Courses Taken

2008-10-02T20:40:00.001-04:00

}AGS 101- Soil Science
}AGS 105- Principles of Plant Growth
}AGS 103- Greenhouse Management
}AGS 122- Concepts of Turf Management
}ENG 121- Composition
}RDG 120- Critical Reading & Thinking
}AGS 132- Landscape Const & Management
}CIS 107- Intro. to Computers & Appl.
}PSY 100- Human Relations
}MAT 150- Business Mathematics
}BUS 101- Intro to Business
}ENG 122- Technical Writing & Comm.
}AGS 106- Fruits & Vegetables
}AGS 131- Intro. to Irrigation
}PSY 121- General Psychology

Schools Attended

2008-10-02T20:15:00.001-04:00

}http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/e/edmunds

}http://www.mtsd-vt.org/mms-mhs/index.html

}http://www.sussexvt.k12.de.us/web/

}http://www.dtcc.edu/

My Favorite Websites

2008-10-02T19:40:00.001-04:00

}www.myspace.com

}www.kennychesney.com

}www.facebook.com

}www.google.com

}www.walmart.com

My Artwork

2008-10-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

Edelweiss Song

2008-10-02T19:30:00.001-04:00

This is me singing, probably very badly.

Philadelphia Flower Show Pictures

2008-10-02T19:17:00.000-04:00

Longwood Gardens Pictures

2008-10-02T19:15:00.000-04:00

Journal Entry 3

2008-10-02T19:03:00.001-04:00

J. Feder
9/24/08

Journal Entry 3 for Ag Leadership

When I think of the steps that are involved in making good decisions, I reflect on my past decisions and how I went about making them. For me, making a good decision requires me to know exactly what the problem is. The next step for me is to gather all my solutions- their pros and cons and evaluate them. Then I need to make a choice and implement it. Finally, I must go back and evaluate how the solution is working for me. For example, I recently had to decide what to do with the books on my overflowing bookcase. I thought to myself that I could just throw the books away, I could donate them to the library, I could keep all the books or I could weed through and then donate them to the Salvation Army. The pro of just throwing the books away would be an empty bookcase (room for more books) but the con was I would be getting rid of some ones that I liked. The pro of donating them to the library would be that someone else would be able to enjoy them but the con was that I would again lose some books I liked. The pro of keeping all the books would be that I did not lose any books I really liked but the con was that my bookcase would still be overflowing. The pro of weeding through the books and then donating them to the Salvation Army is that I would end up with the books I liked and someone else would enjoy the rest but the con of that would be the trip taking down to the place. I decided to weed through the books and then donate them to the Salvation Army. I know that was the best solution for me because it enabled me to keep the books I liked, do some good and solve the problem of the bookcase overflowing.

Agfest Video

2008-10-02T19:01:00.001-04:00

This is a line-dancing video I took during Agfest @ Del-Tech.

Journal Entry 2

2008-10-02T18:24:00.001-04:00

J.Feder
9/16/08

Journal Entry 2 for Ag Leadership

I have not had much experience in delegation. The only experience that I could think of was when I was a supervisor for the front end at Wal-mart. When I was a supervisor, I was responsible for making sure that certain tasks were accomplished such as getting all front end associates their breaks on “time” and making sure that the register areas was maintained by being clean, neat and the bags rack were full. To ensure that the tasks were successfully done I delegated to my cashiers and fellow front end supervisors. I did this by assigning different cashiers the tasks of washing the registers, emptying the trash, fillings bags, covering breaks, and putting away returns. I also assigned different front end supervisors different areas to watch over to ensure that breaks were taken care of. This was successful and unsuccessful in the art of delegation. It was successful when everyone cooperated and showed up. It was not successful when people did not cooperate and people called out.

My Resume

2008-10-02T18:10:00.001-04:00

Jessica Feder
23 W Green wing Dr.- Milton, De 19968- (302) 684-2610 -starlght_lady26@yahoo.com

Objective:
My ideal job is to work for a company in the field of hydroponics research and experimentation.

Experience
Sales Associate
2001-Present Wal-mart, Rehoboth Beach, DE
§ Taking care of the customers in the fabric dept
§ Assisting where needed throughout the store
§ Restocking of shelves

Snack Bar Associate
2000-2001 K-mart, Rehoboth Beach, DE
§ Taking care of the customers in the snack bar
§ Preparation/ Cleanup of all snack bar products
§ Running the outside kart and register
§ Running the sidewalk sales

Deli/ Line Associate
Summer of 1999 & 2000 Cape May- Lewes Ferry, Lewes, DE
§ Taking care of the customers at the deli
§ Preparation/ Cleanup of all Deli Products
§ Restocking of shelves
§ Deliveries to ferry vessels

Education:
Delaware Technical Community College, Georgetown, DE
2005-2009
Associate Degree
Major- Horticulture
Organizations- FFA
Sussex Technical High School, Georgetown, DE
1997-2001
§ Diploma
§ Major- Environmental
§ Organizations- FFA, VICA, Drama, FCA, Track

Interests:
Gardening and hydroponics hobbyist, vigorous reader

References:
References are available on request.

Journal Entry 1

2008-10-02T17:52:00.001-04:00

J. Feder
9/2/08

Journal Entry for Ag Leadership

So this past week I spent some time pondering my definition of what a leader is. I came to this conclusion that when I think of leaders, I think of people that are in charge. Examples that come to my mind would be my parents, my teachers, my manager at work, the president of the USA and so forth. Realizing that I can not think of anything more to say about my definition, I went online and googled leaders/leadership and came up with a website that sums up how incomplete my definition is. I came across this belief-“although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss” Taking this information in hand I began to rethink my thoughts of what a leader is and came up with some new examples. My first example is an organization that I used to belong to-The Girl Scouts of America. They are leaders because they empower young girls’ minds that they can do anything (and I’m not just saying that because they make/sell really good cookies).When I was a girl scout, I learned so many new and interesting things that I could apply to real life such as how to survive in the wilderness and how to cook. Another example of a leader is the corporation Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. I say this because I see the new technology they come up with to better our operations, communities and environment. They are a major leader in giving back to the local communities that they reside in. In conclusion to this journal entry, my revised definition of what a leader is is someone that empowers people to reach the goals of the “organization”.

2008-10-02T17:40:00.005-04:00

-Journal Entry 1
-Resume
-Journal Entry 2
-Agfest Video
-Journal Entry 3
-Longwood Gardens Pictures
-Philadelphia Flower Show Pictures
-Edelweiss Song
-Original Artwork
-My Favorite Websites
-Attended Schools
-Courses Taken, In Progress & Remaining
-Applied Ecology Assignment 2
-Journal Entry 4
-Journal Entry 5
-Fall Colors 08
-Journal Entry 6
-Journal Entry 7
-Reflective Paragraph

Welcome

2008-10-02T17:30:00.001-04:00

Welcome

This is my E-Portfolio

for my

Agriculture Leadership Class

Jessica's Journal

Reflective Paragraph

Journal Entry 7

Journal Entry 6

Fall Colors!

Journal Entry 5

Journal Entry 4

Applied Ecology Assignment 2

Courses Remaining

Courses in Progress

Courses Taken

Schools Attended

My Favorite Websites

My Artwork

Edelweiss Song

Philadelphia Flower Show Pictures

Longwood Gardens Pictures

Journal Entry 3

Agfest Video

Journal Entry 2

My Resume

Journal Entry 1

Table of Contents

Welcome