Paving the Way for Women in Agriculture by Kellie Krebs Texas Tech University sent its first woman out into the agricultural education field in 1976. Pat Hammit became the first woman to graduate from Texas Tech with a degree in agricultural education. Hammit was born in Lockney, Texas, but moved to Waurika, Okla., after three years and was surrounded by agriculture as a child. Her parents were farmers and ranchers as well as her paternal grandparents. These experiences provided Hammit with a strong agricultural background and a desire to continue a career in agriculture. In addition to being raised around agriculture, Hammit was involved in the 4-H Club. During her senior year of high school, she joined her high school FFA chapter and was the only female member. Hammit was originally interested in studying animal science, but she changed her mind when she joined the agricultural classes at her high school. Her teacher was Gene Barnett and Hammit viewed him as a mentor. "Gene was a great instructor and really enjoyed teaching," said Hammit. Hammit enrolled at Texas Tech in the fall of 1970 as an agricultural education major. At the time when women had just been allowed to join FFA and few ventured into agricultural classes, Hammit decided she wanted to teach agriculture. Although Hammit was the only girl in nearly all of her classes, she felt very comfortable, because she had a good rapport with the students in her classes. Even though everyone Hammit encountered at Texas Tech was supportive of her decision to teach agriculture, she was warned not to get her hopes up about teaching. "I was told that I could go into ag education, but I would not get a job teaching. I could only get a job in the horticultural field," Hammit said. Following graduation in 1976, Hammit applied to teach agricultural education in schools around the Lubbock area. "I decided to go ahead and start working on my master’s degree in case a job didn’t come along," said Hammit. In fact, Hammit was offered a job working at a veterinary clinic she had worked at in past summers. She believed that the job was not what she had gone to school for and decided to decline the offer. Throughout her semester of student teaching, Hammit had met several agricultural science teachers and found that some teachers were very unreceptive, while others accepted her easily. Luckily for Hammit, Plainview High School needed a second ag. teacher and Hammit was the person recommended for the job. In the fall of 1976, Hammit began her first teaching job in Plainview with a teaching partner that was "perfect." Gene Barnett was there to help Hammit with any questions and allow her to develop her own style. "I felt confident in my ability and information level and Gene was there for support. If I had any problems, even with parents, he knew their background and could help," said Hammit. Hammit taught at Plainview until her son was born two years later. However, Hammit still kept one foot inside the agricultural door. She had developed a private entomology service and kept active throughout the summer. Her responsibilities included going into the field and finding out if bugs were destroying the crops and then remedying the situation. Hammit returned to teaching in 1984, two years after her daughter was born. This time, however, she taught biology at Plainview Christian Academy. In addition to raising children, teaching and running an entomology service, Hammit received her master’s degree in education in 1985. Hammit became administrator for Plainview Christian Academy in 1986, and resigned in May, 2001. She and her husband currently reside in Canyon, Texas. Twenty-five years later, many more women are actively pursuing a career in agricultural education. For example, Kelly Hardin graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary agriculture in December of 2000 and is currently pursuing her master’s in the same field. Hardin plans to finish her masters and then begin teaching classes. She is also interested in the political side of education and would like to get involved with agricultural education organizations. Many women now combine their interests in agriculture to enjoy the teaching profession.