Agricultural Education Graduate Honored as 2009 Distinguished Agricultural Alumnus

By:Katherine Kuykendall
Gregory Curlin, a 1990 Purdue Agricultural Education graduate, has recently been named a 2009 Distinguished Agricultural Alumnus. Curlin is an agricultural science and business teacher and FFA advisor at Switzerland County High School in Vevay, Ind.

By stressing academics and consumer agriculture in his instruction, Curlin has been able to quadruple the enrollment in the Switzerland County Agriculture Science and Business program. Curlin explained that growing up with agriculture has been his life and it is gratifying for him to see his students succeed in the industry.

"Teaching agriculture has been a job that has been fun, challenging at times, and rewarding as my students receive recognition and pursue careers in agriculture," said Curlin.

Since graduating from Purdue, Curlin has served many roles as an agricultural educator. He is currently the Region IV Vice President of the National Association of Agricultural Educators and is a past president of the Indiana Association of Agricultural Educators. His FFA chapter at Switzerland County High School has been in the top 30 Indiana FFA chapters from 1996 through 2008 and has awarded 72 State Degrees and ten American Degrees.