Meet Shane!

Blog Post by Shane Fairchild, Senior Marketing Communications Manager- Education

Fist bumping my students as they head off to summer break was more meaningful this year than ever. For the last ten years, I have sent students off knowing that I would get to meet new young learners in the fall, but this fall, I will not be meeting new students; instead, I will be meeting new educators and farmers across Kansas as I transition to an exciting career with Kansas Corn as Senior Communications Marketing Manager-Education.

I have a unique background that combines growing up in western Kansas on a cattle farm, working with my grandparents on a small farm, and two degrees from K-State in communications and education.  I have been blessed with long careers as a producer/director for Cox Media, K-State Athletics, and as an elementary and middle school teacher with Geary County schools.  Throughout those careers, I have created media for hundreds of clients, edited The Bill Snyder Show, shook hands with a President, taught hundreds of students, collaborated with educators to create engaging lessons, and worked with parents to best meet their child’s learning needs.

I love traveling around Kansas and exploring the history of this great state with my beautiful wife, Nicole, and two young children, Henry and Evelyn.  We love to go back to western Kansas to spend time with my relatives on the family farm, especially during the fall harvest time.  Nicole grew up in the city but loves the night skies of western Kansas.  Currently, my wife and I call Junction City home, but we hope to find a small farm soon in the Flint Hills.

I started working with Kansas Corn five years ago during a summer STEM-based professional development presented at K-State.   During that workshop, I learned about inquiry-based education using Kansas Corn resources. Beginning in 2018, I started working for Kansas Corn STEM as an Inquiry Ambassador.  It is an excellent opportunity to collaborate with educators around Kansas and help them bring engaging and inquiry-based learning using agriculture into the classroom.  Along with Josh Runyan, a teacher in Manhattan, I co-wrote inquiry-based professional development and lessons using Breakout.edu.  Josh and I have presented the professional development to many teachers across Kansas and continue to write more breakout lessons.

Now with Kansas Corn, I will utilize the knowledge gained as a classroom teacher and producer/director to connect with educators, create marketing strategies across multiple platforms, plus identify opportunities to develop Kansas Corn brand awareness.  Right now, I know there are young students sitting in a classroom who would never dream of being a farmer or working in agriculture.  They might live in Kansas, but the only interaction with a corn field is when they drive by it. Imagine the resources given to a passionate teacher from Kansas Corn creating that spark of inquiry that leads a student to pursue fantastic careers in agriculture.

Please reach out by email or call me with any questions or opportunities for Kansas Corn STEM to be involved in your schools and communities.