Every year, the Irrigation Association, Fairfax, Virginia, honors those who have made a significant contribution to the irrigation industry through the IA awards program. Sponsored by Hunter Industries, the 2022 IA awards program celebrated three individuals and one irrigation project.
Bradley Jakubowski, an instructor of plant and turfgrass science at Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania, received the 2022 Excellence in Education. Through his transformative efforts, his irrigation, water management, water conservation, turf science and landscape irrigation courses feature both instructional theory and hands-on troubleshooting and design. He has attended and presented at the IA landscape Faculty Academy events and currently serves on the Faculty Academy Planning Committee.
Bradley Jakubowski, instructor
2022 Excellence in Education Award
What does receiving the Excellence in Education Award mean to you?
Receiving the Excellence in Education Award is a tremendous honor and is also quite humbling, considering all of the amazing educators in our industry. It gives me a glimpse from an outside-looking-in perspective that the methods and content that I am using are consistent with what is needed and that they have an intrinsic value to the students I work with and the industry.
What motivated you to devise your multifaceted and interactive irrigation programming and curriculum?
Personally, I am a hands-on learner who learns best from practical-based information and activities. I feel many of the students in our field learn similarly. Also, our industry requires us to think and work technically, so it is critical to provide our students with as many opportunities to participate in active learning as possible, regardless of whether it is an in-person class, via distance or virtual. Our challenge as educators is to engage students’ critical thinking skills and to broaden their life-skill talents and experiences.
As an educator, what role do you believe you play in smart irrigation and water use efficiency?
We educators are on the front lines or cutting edge of smart irrigation and water use efficiency education. With water as a finite resource, it is paramount that we learn and teach how to best utilize and conserve one of Earth’s most — if not the most — valuable resource. We do this by having our systems become as “smart” as possible, thus improving water use efficiency and allowing us to maximize plant growth and development with the least amount of water possible.
What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment within your teaching career?
Other than winning this award, it’s having the opportunity to teach and to do something in my life where I rarely think or feel I have to go to work. My greatest accomplishment is seeing people’s eyes light up when they get that “aha moment” and the lightbulb comes on from learning a concept or succeeding at a previously unknown task or problem. Fortunately, I receive my greatest accomplishment continually.
What tips do you have for today’s current or up-and-coming irrigation professionals?
Keep showing up; whatever mundane task you have, or stout challenge or roadblock you face, just keep showing up. As you do, your database or storehouse of knowledge and experiences grows. Without really knowing it, you become increasingly proficient and efficient at what you do. I still enjoy taking classes and asking people to share their experiences, because as Bill Nye said, “Everyone knows something I don’t,” and I am so thankful that is true. I don’t have to know everything, I just need to keep showing up.
Read more about the other 2022 IA awards program recipients in agriculture irrigation and landscape irrigation.
