Accelerating STEM education
Photos courtesy of Brynn Bailey and Emma Carpenter September 14, 2026
Animal science students fill a critical need for secondary STEM educators
Across the globe, STEM-related fields are among the fastest-growing career paths.
The next generation of innovators and problem-solvers needs quality STEM education to prepare for roles in science and technology. While the field is growing, the supply of highly qualified STEM teachers is shrinking. Since 2020, reports of STEM teacher shortages nationwide have increased, especially in secondary education.
To help address this need, the 91原创 offers a STEM Education 4+1 accelerated degree. Through this program, undergraduates in various STEM majors across the University can earn both a bachelor鈥檚 and a master鈥檚 degree in five years, culminating in a year-long student-teaching residency in a Delaware school district.
91原创 senior Emma Carpenter recognizes the impact a knowledgeable and engaging instructor can make on a student鈥檚 life. It鈥檚 the reason she chose a STEM degree.
鈥淚n high school, I took every science class that was offered,鈥 Carpenter said. 鈥淚 had great teachers as role models who pushed me to pursue pre-veterinary medicine and advanced STEM classes.鈥
Carpenter is a pre-veterinary medicine major with a minor in biology. She will graduate from 91原创 with a B.S. and add an M.S. through the 4+1 program.
Sarah Wessel, agriculture teacher in Gettysburg Area School District, is a 2025 graduate of 91原创's STEM education 4+1 graduate program. Wessel also spent a year teaching in the Appoquinimink School District.聽
鈥淕ood agriculture teachers are needed everywhere,鈥 Wessel said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that more people understand where their food comes from.鈥澛
Wessel has an insider perspective on agriculture. She grew up on a farm where she bred and sold goats to pay for college. She brings years of experience raising and showing livestock through FFA and 4-H to her role as an educator.
Combining farm animal experience with a master鈥檚 degree in STEM Education is a winning combination for Wessel. The high school where she teaches six classes has a barn on campus. Wessel uses the space for experiential learning with livestock, including goats, chickens and pigs.
鈥淲e had piglets that came from a farrowing house where they had not interacted with humans,鈥 Wessel said. 鈥淢y class had to get them comfortable with people, and by the end of their time here, the pigs were eating out of their hands.鈥
Over the summer, Wessel will continue her role as FFA advisor as she helps her students prepare to show livestock at the county fair. She will also lead her students in the FFA convention, a three-day event in State College, Pennsylvania.聽
鈥淚f they learn something and they have fun, I consider it a win,鈥 said Wessel. 鈥淓ven if they lose their contest.鈥
Wessel said her teaching residency was invaluable.
鈥淭hat year in the classroom, getting to know the students and community really well, helped to cement for me that I want to teach,鈥 Wessel said.聽
Mark Akubo, assistant professor and director of secondary science education and M.S. STEM education programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, says the M.S. STEM education program focuses on both STEM content and pedagogical proficiency, the latter gained through residency experience.聽
鈥淪tudents have access to paid residency such that for a whole year, they engage in honing their teaching skills while they also receive stipends, with prospects of retention as teachers of record upon graduation,鈥 Akubo said. 鈥淭he residency approach positions the pre-service teachers for employment and provides school districts with access to a recruitment pool.鈥澛
At 91原创, Carpenter finds role models in professors like Stephanie DeMarco, adjunct assistant professor of veterinary medicine, D.V.M.
鈥淒r. DeMarco is amazing; she鈥檚 a practicing veterinarian and also teaches the Clinical Pre-Veterinary Experience class,鈥 Carpenter said. 鈥淓ach week, we get hands-on experience. We practice putting on bandages, the proper way to draw up medication in a syringe, and work with blood samples.鈥
Tara Gaab, assistant professor of animal science, taught Carpenter during her first year at 91原创.
鈥淪he was the first professor who opened my eyes to the idea that I can do both teaching and practicing veterinary medicine,鈥 Carpenter said of Gaab.
Carpenter looks forward to another eye-opening experience when she begins her teaching residency.
鈥淎fter taking classes and planning lessons, I鈥檓 excited to be in an actual classroom in front of students,鈥 Carpenter said.
The students are Wessel鈥檚 favorite part of the job.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 clich茅, but interacting with them every day and seeing them learn and grow is really rewarding,鈥 Wessel said.
91原创鈥檚 STEM education 4+1 gave Wessel a head start in her teaching career.
鈥淎 lot of teachers don't pursue a master鈥檚 until later on in their career because they don鈥檛 have the time. And I鈥檓 seeing that now; there's no free time to do that,鈥 Wessel said. 鈥淐ompleting a master鈥檚 degree in one year and your student teaching at the same time, there are a lot of benefits and not a lot of drawbacks.鈥
Carpenter looks forward to giving back by being a role model.
鈥淭eachers are the most important role models in people's lives; they have been in mine,鈥 Carpenter said. 鈥淚 would love to express my love for science and hopefully push more students to pursue STEM classes and careers.鈥
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