Levon T Esters

Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication

Associate Professor Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication

Phone

765.494.8439

Fax

765.496.1152

Office

Lilly Room 3-226

Address

915 W State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054

lesters@purdue.edu

Professional Certifications
Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF), 2008

Education Degree
Ph.D, Agricultural and Extension Education, Pennsylvania State University, 2003
M.S., Agricultural Education, North Carolina A&T State University, 2000
B.S., Agricultural Business, Florida A&M University,1995

Committees
Diversity Action Team in Agriculture

Research Interests
Career development theory and practice; career education; use of agriculture as a context for teaching and learning STEM; application of social cognitive career theory to diverse youth in urban life science educational contexts.

Teaching Interests
Career development theory and practice; career education

Professional Experience
Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Education & Studies, Iowa State University, 2004-2009
Graduate Assistant, Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, Pennsylvania State University; Program Coordinator, Food and Agricultural Sciences Institute, 2000-2003
Agricultural Education Instructor and Coordinator of Ag-Business Career Pathway, The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, 1998-2000

Awards & Honors

(2017) MSI Aspiring Leader. Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI), University of Pennsylvania.

(2012) Teaching for Tomorrow (TfT) Award. Purdue University.

(2012) Fellow, NSF-ITEST Program Fellow. NSF-ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) Fellows Program.

(2017) Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA) Engagement Award for the Mentoring@Purdue (M@P) Program. Purdue University, Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA).

(2017) Excellence in Research/Seed for Success Award (i.e., Acorn Award). Purdue University.

(2011) Teaching Fellow. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA).

(2016) Distinguished Research Award. North Central American Association for Agricultural Education (NC-AAAE) Region.

(2015) Purdue Bravo Award. Purdue University.

(2012) Early Career Award. Youth Development and Agricultural Education.

(2015) Erin Slater Mentoring Achievement Award. College Mentors for Kids, Purdue University.

Selected Publications

Mrozinski-Schwartz, A., Knobloch, N., Esters, L., & Brady, C. (2012). The Effects of a Technology-Mediated Animal Science Unit on Community College Studentsäó» Knowledge and Motivation. AAAE National Conference.