Tractor Supply Company {SAE Visit}

This past Thursday, February 25th I visited one of my students at Tractor Supply Company (TSC) at the Shippensburg, PA location. It was a great time to visit a Tractor Supply due to it being National FFA week.

Courtney has worked their since October 2015. Courtney decided that she wanted a job to start saving for a car and college. Her prior Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) was with her cats and chickens. Courtney is nervous and excited to start her SAE because she has never had a placement SAE before. Prior to the visit I reviewed Courtney's past SAE books to see what her experiences, leadership roles, and earned degrees were.

Starting the visit I walked into the store and Courtney was placing price tags on candles at the front register. As she worked we discussed her goals for her SAE, career, and degrees/awards. She would like to apply for a State Star award in Placement and wants to achieve her Keystone Degree. Her apprehensions are not knowing about the Placement SAE book and what the requirements are and how to apply for the State Star award.

She walked me around the store and discussed the operations and responsibilities she has, showed me the management system on the computer, and we walked down the welding isle discussing some of the products, since she is in my welding class. Courtney works 2-3 nights per week from 4-8:30pm and one 8 hour shift on the weekends. From having Courtney as a student and listening to her as an employee of TSC, her diligent work ethic and willingness to complete any task helps her succeed at her job.

To conclude the visit Courtney and I setup two times to meet in the upcoming week where we will setup her placement SAE book. I assigned her to go in and complete her student profile and bring her check stubs into class and we will start her book. Courtney is in my Advanced Leadership class where I have an upcoming random AET record book check for all my students.  Courtney will be prepared to receive full credit for the first random check.

This SAE visit was my first placement and it was great to step into the student role and have Courtney be the teacher. I was able to observe her confidence in her project, her understanding of the systems and operations or the store, and interactions with customers. In looking forward to work with her in the upcoming week, this visit will allow me to understand and ask appropriate questions to ensure Courtney is on track to meet her goals.