Thursday, March 28, 2024
Lori Pagel has guided Kasson-Mantorville students for 25 as an agriculture instructor at the high school.

KM teacher passes agricultural knowledge on to students

“A teacher affects eternity; they can never tell where their influence stops.” — Henry Adams

As an Ag instructor and FFA advisor for the Kasson-Mantorville School District, Lori Pagel’s students are grateful for her 25 years of dedicated service, and rightly so.

Despite losing her father at age six, Lori remains optimistic and embraces life’s surprises and challenges. Consequently, she exemplifies a model of strength, positive attitude, and determination for her students to follow.

Growing up in Crookston, Lori spent countless hours at her family’s property on Union Lake with her mom and sister LeAnn. Possessing a fondness for the outdoors, Lori enjoyed the quintessential childhood.

Her many activities included biking, fishing, swimming, water skiing, horseback riding, or just exploring the vast countryside of her hometown area. However, not all was fun and games. While her mother worked a variety of jobs, Lori babysat, sang in the church choir, and volunteered what little time was left, visiting senior citizens unable to get out and socialize with others.

High school fostered within Lori a love for the arts.

Avoiding the spotlight, Lori instead worked on set design and props for the school’s various plays and musicals. As a fan of the stage, Lori also joined the drama group, Thespians, and experienced New York City with her classmates. At home, her family remained members of Crookston’s Artist Series which annually hosted several musicians, including a memorable performance by the Jimmy Dorsey Band.

But for Lori, an early life-changing event occurred while she was in the ninth grade when she became a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). As part of her responsibilities for FFA, she judged meats for a regional FFA contest. She also judged potatoes, which she enjoyed, and from there, she decided to try other events, including sheep judging.

Soon after being a charter member of the FFA club at her school, they began a horticulture team, and Lori joined. The team had many successes and ranked high in the state competitions.

Uncertain about what she would do after graduation, she enrolled in a two-year horticulture program at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

Like many college students, however, Lori changed her major to Bio Lab Tech and then, changed again to Diversified Agriculture with the hope to move into Agriculture Education.

See full story in this week’s print edition or subscribe online. To subscribe, please call (507)634-7503.

 

Dodge County Independent

Dodge County Independent
Dodge County ADvantage
301 S. Mantorville Ave.
Plaza 57 • Suite 200
Kasson, MN 55944

Dodge County Printing
301 S. Mantorville Ave.
Plaza 57 • Suite 200
Kasson, MN 55944

507-634-7503
 
Hours: 
Monday-Thursday 10a.m.-3p.m.