Warren County’s Sebrena Wade has farming in her blood and elementary education in her heart. Her ability to combine the two passions earned her recognition in the December issue of The Cooperator, the official magazine of Tennessee Farmers Cooperative. The magazine’s mission is to connect to the Co-op community through shared experiences, common values and rural heritage.
Wade, a member of the Co-op board of directors as well as a director at Warren County Farm Bureau, balances those duties along with her job as a fifth-grade teacher at Cannon County Elementary School in Woodbury.
Wade gives credit for her love of farming to her father, Buster Wade, a former fertilizer department employee of Warren Farmers Cooperative. As detailed in The Cooperator article, Wade enjoyed tagging along with her father as he performed his farming duties, cultivating a love for farming she would carry with her throughout her life.
“When farming is in your blood, it’s in your blood,” Wade said. “As the old saying goes - you can run, but you can’t hide.”
After majoring in agribusiness at MTSU, she eventually found herself drawn into the world of education. A part-time daycare job and a stint as substitute teacher with Warren County Schools sparked a love for working with children which led to her pursuing and receiving Master’s and educational studies degrees in instructional leadership.
The change in profession did nothing to diminish her passion for farming, however. Wade helped her father with farming until his passing in 2019. She continues to get her hands dirty, driving, disking, planting and harvesting at Billings’ Family Farm in Centertown. She plans to go into farming full-time when she retires from teaching.
For now, Wade relishes the opportunity to share her passion for farming with her fifth-grade students, with agricultural items decorating her classroom.
“I thoroughly enjoy sharing my love of farming with my students,” Wade said. “My classroom is not a traditionally decorated one you would normally see. Instead, it is decorated in all things farming. It gives the kids a great opportunity to learn about agriculture and helps me build relationships with them by offering a glimpse of what I do when I’m not at school. To say I have the best of both worlds is an understatement. I have the opportunity not only to do what I love, but also to share my passion for farming with the next generation.”
As for being featured in Co-op magazine, Wade is appreciative of the honor.
“I still have no idea how I was even selected by The Cooperator to be interviewed to be honest. I’m just flattered that I was,” Wade said. “I love farming and all things agriculture. I also love being able to share with my students what I do outside of school and try to help them understand where their food comes from. Once TCAP is over we start discussing how to grow plants in a garden. We then start most of our plants from seed with the exception of the tomatoes. By the time school is out for summer, students have their own plants they can take home and set out at home. I also throw in the fact that they can buy all their gardening needs at the Co-op. As far as my serving on the Board of Directors for Warren Farmers’ Co-op, I love our Co-op, so it is truly an honor to be able to serve just like my father did.”
