Suzanne Hadfield, agricultural educator at Pleasant Grove High School, is known by her students as a teacher, mentor and friend.

Her excellence in teaching and her support for her students as the National FFA Organization adviser contributed to her selection by the National Association of Agricultural Educators as the 2009 Utah Outstanding Young Member Award.

Outstanding Young Member award winners are agricultural educators throughout the nation who have been teaching no more than six years and who have established a successful agriculture education program.

Hadfield has been teaching at Pleasant Grove High School for two years, and she has already been an important influence on her students.

Matt Brocious has taken several classes from Hadfield -- floral design, horticulture and agricultural biology. Matt said Hadfield was an excellent teacher.

"She's really good at explaining things so everyone understands them. She'd show a bunch of different ways to do things," he said.

He said he also appreciated Hadfield's sense of humor and ease at working with students. "She'd go with the flow," he said.

Hadfield's enthusiasm for her students and their efforts has led to a huge increase in the school's FFA activity.

About 50 students are members of FFA, an organization that promotes student leadership through a variety of activities and contests, including working with community leaders and giving community service.

Hadfield said the first year she taught at PGHS about 10 percent competed in FFA contests. "This last year I had a huge amount of kids participate, over half of them competed," she said.

This year, five Pleasant Grove students will travel to Indianapolis in October to compete in National FFA contests. Hadfield said she is delighted at the skill and competence that her students have shown, and is excited to see them compete at nationals.

Alissa Johnson is a finalist for the National FFA Proficiency Award in Agricultural Sales-Placement; and the team of Matt Brocious, Josh Kresser, Tayler Welch and Shaylyn Skinner will compete in the National FFA Food Science and Technology Career Development event.

A native of Lehi, Hadfield grew up on a small cattle ranch and was involved in 4-H and FFA.

"I showed animals all through high school -- lambs, pigs, steers," she said.

After graduating from Lehi High School, she attended Casper College in Wyoming, where she received an associate's degree in agriculture. She received a bachelor's degree in agricultural education and a master's in science with an agricultural emphasis from Utah State.

Her first four years of teaching were at Davis High School in Kaysville. She has taught at Pleasant Grove High for two years. She said she enjoys teaching at PGHS, and the mixture of urban and rural lifestyles found in the area.

In addition to her classroom teaching and FFA advisory experience, Hadfield has served on a six-teacher panel sponsored by Utah State University, to develop agricultural biology curriculum for teachers throughout the state. A lab experience that she created to help students understand vitamin deficiency in animals won a regional award, through NAAE's Ideas Unlimited.

Hadfield serves as treasurer-elect for NAAE, and has provided professional development to new teachers nationwide through the NAAE's "Teacher's Turn the Key program." She said she is excited with the nationwide networking and support that this program provides for teachers.

Hadfield has also served as a proficiency judge at FFA Nationals in Indiana.

"This was one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had because I was able to see agricultural projects completed by students across the country and select the top four for a specific area," she said.

Viewing and judging a variety of excellent projects has spurred Hadfield to provide even more variety and support for her Pleasant Grove students' projects. Hadfield said she sees agricultural education as much greater in scope than merely learning about farming and ranching. She said her greatest joy lies in seeing her students build upon the success they've seen in high school, and having it become a foundation for building and achieving success throughout their lives.

"Agricultural education programs allow every student to grow to their potential, be you farmer or city kid," she said. "I've seen kids who are shy grow to stand in public and talk. It gives kids confidence they never knew they had and now have the chance to use."

Talia Wilson agreed that Hadfield made classroom learning fun. She also appreciated Hadfield's classroom structure and organization.

"She had a lot of discipline in her classroom, which I really liked," Talia said.

While Hadfield is able to make her high school classes of agricultural biology, animal science, floral design and horticulture interesting and fun, it is as the FFA advisor where she especially shines. Through her dedication and hard work, she has raised the bar for these students, and they have grown to meet the challenge.

Student Talia Wilson had an interest in dairy goats, but when Hadfield offered to give a student a lamb to raise as an FFA project, Talia wanted to give it a try. She successfully raised the lamb, kept careful records, and showed her sheep at last year's County and State Fairs. "[Hadfield] taught me everything I know about raising sheep," Talia said. "I didn't know how cool sheep were. Now sheep are one of my favorite animals."

Hadfield used Talia's love of music -- she plays fiddle in a country band -- as a springboard for Talia's state competition in communications. Her project, about how country music ties in to the agricultural community, took third place at State in agricultural communications.

Customizing a project to a student's unique interests and strengths is an example of Hadfield's educational philosophy of allowing all students the opportunity to excel and meet their highest potential.