Learning By Teaching

By: Patrick McKee

Mary Michael Lipford ’21 wanted to travel the world. She never imagined her journeys would take her around the world to teach others about farming and agriculture.

Growing up near Richmond, Va., her family always had a vegetable garden, so agriculture has been part of her life. “My parents were really into growing your own food and being really sustainable,” Lipford recalled.

She entered Virginia Tech as an International Studies major, but quickly discovered political discussions didn’t suit her.

After talking to faculty in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences about study abroad opportunities, Lipford was hooked and quickly changed her major. 

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

A strong work ethic, and curiosity about the world around her, led Lipford to double major in Crop and Soil Sciences and Spanish, and minor in Global Food Security and Health.  

With her passion for traveling and foreign languages, Lipford first studied abroad in Ecuador. “I was there for about six months,” Lipford recalled. “Everything was taught in Spanish, so that was a good intro into what living abroad would look like.”

A trip to Senegal allowed her to use the skills she learned in the classroom.  

“Food is the basis of life, and to go further than that, soil is the basis of life,” Lipford explained.

She studied with Professor Ozzie Abaye ’92, performing mung bean research. While in Senegal, she presented her findings on mung beans and learned existing practices. But that trip was just the start, as, “It gave me a taste of West African life,” Lipford said.

ENTERING THE CLASSROOM

After graduating, Lipford was given an opportunity to travel to Ghana by taking part in a fellowship with the Texas A & M Borlaug Institute.  

“This opportunity presented itself three times before I said yes,” Lipford said.  

After finally accepting, the born traveler was immersed for a year in a new culture. “Africa is so diverse. I didn’t know a lot about Ghana,” Lipford said. “Since I had done research in Senegal, I just wanted to know more about it.”

The adventure had her serving as a teacher in a middle school and an Extension agent. “I was working with 4-H Ghana [a national organization],” Lipford explained. “So, we were starting 4-H clubs and partnering with the already started clubs, advising them, starting school farms, working with my local farmer group on sustainable agriculture practices, and workshops.”

In the classroom, she worked with local teachers in Integrated Sciences classes, going more in-depth than the curriculum. 

“My students all greeted me with smiles. I never had a dull moment with them,” Lipford described.

After school was 4-H club. She met with the students, helping them to develop leadership skills.

“We had all the executives [of the club] and tried to help them lead their club to give them a sense of leadership, which they really stepped into, which was really cool to see through the whole year, some of the growth in public speaking,” Lipford said.

They also spent time on the farm, learning about composting, cover cropping, and mulching.

When funds were available, Lipford took her students on field trips to enhance their knowledge.

One trip, where she took her students to the beach, left a lasting impression. “A lot of them had never touched the ocean or been in it,” Lipford recalled. “The joy that comes from watching joy was astronomical. That was one of the key things about my students is just the joy I always felt around them.”

While the work was hard, it was rewarding. “My students brought me so much joy.  There were a lot of really hard days there, but at the end of the day, the only reason I kept going a lot of days, was because of my students.” 

TRADING BEST PRACTICES

Outside of the classroom, Lipford met with local farmers, sharing her knowledge about agriculture. “If you want to improve all of these hard things I’ve learned about in the world, you start with basic needs and empowering people to be able to fill their own basic needs, then go out and do what you’re passionate about,” she said.

But those meetings came with challenges, first among them was the language barrier. The native languages in the village, where she worked, were Fante and Twi. In some cases, Lipford was able to use a translator. In others, she communicated with actions.

The climate was also different than anything she had experienced. Where she worked, it was tropical with two distinct seasons, wet and dry. According to the World Bank, the wet season typically runs from May to September. Temperatures year-round average in the 80s and 90s, but frequently get over 100 in summer.

In addition, Lipford also had to gain the trust of the people. “I had to show that I was there to learn and get to know them before I could jump into a job,” she described. “The first few months were a lot of learning for me, and how I fit in there.”  

LESSONS LEARNED

While teaching was her primary job, Lipford quickly discovered that learning never stops.

Her students were a source of inspiration for her, where she learned about hard work.  Many of them would start their days at 4:30 a.m., working on the farm before going to school, then returning to the farm after their studies.

Another lesson: change takes time, patience, and resources. “This view of development work is so much more complicated that I thought it was when I was an undergrad,” Lipford explained. “They are so smart, and so hard working, and they could do anything without any help if they were given the resources.”

Finally, she learned the importance of listening to elders, who have learned their skills from previous generations.

 “It’s not just about helping, because they have so much to offer and I learned more than I offered there,” Lipford said.

Summing up a year abroad, Lipford described it as, “...a privilege for me to go over there.  Not a lot of people get to go there and know the people of Ghana. Because of that opportunity, and privilege, it is my duty to bring back what I know about them.”