{"id":96641,"date":"2025-01-23T16:21:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T21:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/?p=96641"},"modified":"2025-01-23T16:21:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T21:21:13","slug":"jodi-driedger-horticultural-sciences-director-of-undergraduate-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/news\/jodi-driedger-horticultural-sciences-director-of-undergraduate-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Jodi Driedger: Horticultural Science\u2019s Director of Undergraduate Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Jodi Driedger<\/a> brings decades of experience as an agriculture educator to NC State University\u2019s Department of Horticultural Science<\/a> and is well-prepared to guide and mentor students in various horticultural directions. Driedger became the new director of Undergraduate Programs (DUP) for the department in July 2024 and has begun to lead the teaching program in various ways. She is also the department\u2019s coordinator for NC State\u2019s Agricultural Institute, which means she works with two-year students as well as four-year students. And on Dec. 13, Driedger hosted her first Horticultural Science graduation ceremony as the DUP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driedger’s interest in horticulture started at an early age when her parents used gardening and pulling weeds as a method of discipline. However, she secretly enjoyed it. She found gardening therapeutic because it gave her instant gratification when she saw her progress and achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driedger was 16 years old when she joined 4-H, which continued to fuel her interest in plants. She was initially introduced to 4H through her sister, but it wasn\u2019t in an area of interest for her. \u201cMy sister was into horses. I can\u2019t ride horses \u2026 or mopeds \u2026 or bikes, so I got into flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driedger enrolled at Michigan State in 1997, where she began studying English. But it wasn\u2019t the right fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI changed majors nine times! I graduated with 196 credits, but only needed 120. I ended up in horticultural science,\u201d  Driedger says. \u201dI always knew I wanted to be a teacher, I just needed to figure out what I wanted to teach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After earning a bachelor’s degree in horticulture, Driedger attended NC State graduating with a master’s degree in agriculture and extension education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postgraduate studies, Driedger began her professional career serving as a high school lead agriculture instructor, FFA advisor and Wake County professional learning team lead. She managed a school greenhouse, gardens, animals and a land laboratory. Driedger worked with NC State as a teacher mentor to dozens of future educators and independently developed two new courses for the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in sustainable agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being dual certified in agricultural education and family consumer sciences, allows her to provide effective instruction from farm to fork. Driedger has educated and collaborated with elementary schools, agricultural business members, and key community stakeholders to enhance agriculture literacy. Additionally, she has facilitated annual service-learning events such as the Catching Fireflies 5K, Wakefield Garden Army, Project Poinsettia, Agriculture Symposium and various plant sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Agriculture
Agriculture Institute irrigation project for greenhouse students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In August of 2021, Driedger rejoined NC State as horticultural science\u2019s senior lecturer for the Agricultural Institute (AGI), instructing three courses both in person and online.  That fall, she coached the AGI students on their submission to the state fair demonstration gardens, garnering a blue ribbon and best overall educational garden for the 2021 NC State Fair Flower and Garden Show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With industry connections, Driedger developed an outlet for mentorship and networking via industry guest speakers and job site visits. She initiated monthly professional development activities for the Agricultural Institute and morale-building exercises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since assuming the role of horticulture’s DUP, serving undergraduate students has proven to be enriching and has many exciting opportunities and challenges. Having faculty with vast knowledge in numerous areas of horticulture and decades of teaching experience among them all breeds a very passionate academic group that pays limitless dividends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an avid conversationalist and student advocate, Driedger is frequently seen engaging with industry professionals regarding student job fairs and career experiences. She bridges horticulture students with the green industry, uniquely pairing people, plants and places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
Student installation project as part of the Department of Horticultural Science\u2019s HS 272 Landscape Design\/Build Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Advising students is the most rewarding aspect of Driedger\u2019s role as  DUP and a frequent reminder of why she is in academia \u2013 to help students find their plant passions and introduce them to the horticulture industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leveraging her background in instructional design, Driedger has been resourceful in enhancing the quality of course content and better meeting students’ learning needs. One of her key initiatives has been to revamp the undergraduate internship requirements for the Department of Horticultural Science. Additionally, she successfully hosted the Internship Experience Exposition, which highlights internships, research and teaching experiences that students have recently completed alongside green industry representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbout ninety students came,\u201d Driedger says. \u201cThirty presented and sixty attended.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the beginning of a new semester, Driedger has delved into improving curriculum, teaching, leading meetings, serving on committees, advising and guiding students through their degrees while maintaining relationships with external stakeholders on behalf of NC State horticulture students. As for the future, there is plenty for Driedger to accomplish as she continues to draw positivity and optimism while navigating the Department of Horticultural Science undergraduate programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n

Jodi Driedger<\/a> brings decades of experience as an agriculture educator to NC State University\u2019s Department of Horticultural Science<\/a> and is well-prepared to guide and mentor students in various horticultural directions. Driedger became the new director of Undergraduate Programs (DUP) for the department in July 2024 and has begun to lead the teaching program in various ways. She is also the department\u2019s coordinator for NC State\u2019s Agricultural Institute, which means she works with two-year students as well as four-year students. And on Dec. 13, Driedger hosted her first Horticultural Science graduation ceremony as the DUP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driedger's interest in horticulture started at an early age when her parents used gardening and pulling weeds as a method of discipline. However, she secretly enjoyed it. She found gardening therapeutic because it gave her instant gratification when she saw her progress and achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driedger was 16 years old when she joined 4-H, which continued to fuel her interest in plants. She was initially introduced to 4H through her sister, but it wasn\u2019t in an area of interest for her. \u201cMy sister was into horses. I can\u2019t ride horses \u2026 or mopeds \u2026 or bikes, so I got into flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driedger enrolled at Michigan State in 1997, where she began studying English. But it wasn\u2019t the right fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI changed majors nine times! I graduated with 196 credits, but only needed 120. I ended up in horticultural science,\u201d  Driedger says. \u201dI always knew I wanted to be a teacher, I just needed to figure out what I wanted to teach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After earning a bachelor's degree in horticulture, Driedger attended NC State graduating with a master's degree in agriculture and extension education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postgraduate studies, Driedger began her professional career serving as a high school lead agriculture instructor, FFA advisor and Wake County professional learning team lead. She managed a school greenhouse, gardens, animals and a land laboratory. Driedger worked with NC State as a teacher mentor to dozens of future educators and independently developed two new courses for the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in sustainable agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being dual certified in agricultural education and family consumer sciences, allows her to provide effective instruction from farm to fork. Driedger has educated and collaborated with elementary schools, agricultural business members, and key community stakeholders to enhance agriculture literacy. Additionally, she has facilitated annual service-learning events such as the Catching Fireflies 5K, Wakefield Garden Army, Project Poinsettia, Agriculture Symposium and various plant sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Agriculture
Agriculture Institute irrigation project for greenhouse students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In August of 2021, Driedger rejoined NC State as horticultural science\u2019s senior lecturer for the Agricultural Institute (AGI), instructing three courses both in person and online.  That fall, she coached the AGI students on their submission to the state fair demonstration gardens, garnering a blue ribbon and best overall educational garden for the 2021 NC State Fair Flower and Garden Show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With industry connections, Driedger developed an outlet for mentorship and networking via industry guest speakers and job site visits. She initiated monthly professional development activities for the Agricultural Institute and morale-building exercises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since assuming the role of horticulture's DUP, serving undergraduate students has proven to be enriching and has many exciting opportunities and challenges. Having faculty with vast knowledge in numerous areas of horticulture and decades of teaching experience among them all breeds a very passionate academic group that pays limitless dividends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an avid conversationalist and student advocate, Driedger is frequently seen engaging with industry professionals regarding student job fairs and career experiences. She bridges horticulture students with the green industry, uniquely pairing people, plants and places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
Student installation project as part of the Department of Horticultural Science\u2019s HS 272 Landscape Design\/Build Studio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Advising students is the most rewarding aspect of Driedger\u2019s role as  DUP and a frequent reminder of why she is in academia \u2013 to help students find their plant passions and introduce them to the horticulture industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leveraging her background in instructional design, Driedger has been resourceful in enhancing the quality of course content and better meeting students' learning needs. One of her key initiatives has been to revamp the undergraduate internship requirements for the Department of Horticultural Science. Additionally, she successfully hosted the Internship Experience Exposition, which highlights internships, research and teaching experiences that students have recently completed alongside green industry representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbout ninety students came,\u201d Driedger says. \u201cThirty presented and sixty attended.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the beginning of a new semester, Driedger has delved into improving curriculum, teaching, leading meetings, serving on committees, advising and guiding students through their degrees while maintaining relationships with external stakeholders on behalf of NC State horticulture students. As for the future, there is plenty for Driedger to accomplish as she continues to draw positivity and optimism while navigating the Department of Horticultural Science undergraduate programs.<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jodi Driedger\u2019s decades in public education make her a great fit for leading undergraduates into the multifaceted world of horticulture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":477,"featured_media":96642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"caption\":\"Driedger visiting students at their internship in Clinton, NC at an NC State University research farm.\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nc-state"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96645,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96641\/revisions\/96645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/horticultural-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}