Texas A&M Applied Agricultural Engineering Career Development Invitational

On Saturday, February 18, 2023 - 36 teams from across Texas participated in the first annual Texas A&M Applied Agricultural Engineering, AAE, Invitational contest. The AAE Career Development Event, CDE, is a relatively new contest for the Texas FFA Association. It was officially adopted by the association in July 2021 with the first state contest being held in May 2022.

The contest was hosted in the new Agriculture and Workforce Education Complex laboratory on the Texas A&M University System RELLIS campus. The newly completed agricultural education laboratory allowed the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications to host a first-class event.

Contestants from as far away as Bridgeport, competed in the event. The contestants competed in three different skilled practicums including flux cored arc welding, oxygen-acetylene cutting and blueprint reading and interpretation. Additionally, contestants demonstrated their technical knowledge in the written examination portion of the event.

The invitational would not have been possible without the many student and faculty volunteers. 10 student volunteers gave generously of their time to further their own development through experiential learning. Additionally, a team of six faculty/staff members including Tim Murphy, Ph.D., Kirk Edney, Ph.D., Mr. J.P. Hancock, Mr. Adren Pilger, Mr. Andrew Isles (Blinn College) and Randy Lund, Ph.D.

ALEC looks forward to hosting the best and the brightest future fighting Texas Aggies for years to come. Texas A&M University hosts thousands of students every year through the various CDE and LDE competitions available to youth in agriculture.

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