After 34 years of influencing aspiring young adults with the benefits of agriculture, Shawano Community High School’s Steve Stomberg is retiring.
Growing up on a 50-cow dairy farm in northern Minnesota, his family also raised 100 beef cows. Hence, Stomberg had a foundation in agriculture from an early age.
Originally, Stomberg had planned on taking over the home dairy farm. While studying at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, one of his professors asked him if he’d ever thought about teaching high school agriculture.
“That’s what got the ball rolling, and my parents were behind it,” Stomberg said. “When I told them that I was going to interview for teaching positions, they immediately put the cows up for sale. That actually finalized my decision to be a teacher. I’ve been in Shawano ever since.”
Receiving an associate’s degree in dairy production from the University of Minnesota-Crookston, Stomberg then transferred to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture education. He also attended Viterbo University receiving his master of arts including innovative teacher leadership and instructional coaching.
With an interest in agriculture deeply ingrained in his formative growing-up years, Stomberg realized there were many facets of agriculture that branch out to other areas of life.
“As I’ve stated to my students for many years, agriculture is more than horses, cows, sows and plows,” said Stomberg.
Many career opportunities can be considered, branching out but not directly related, to the production aspects of agriculture, such as how is the food processed, how it is marketed (marketing and graphic arts) and public relations (social media). Also to be considered is the technical side — computer-generated growing systems, how to program the software to make the systems work and function.
“During my teaching career, I’ve just scratched the surface a little bit, introducing the kids to many of these possibilities,” said Stomberg.
Students learn hands-on how food is produced and harvested from farm-to-table.
The agriculture department at SCHS, under the tutelage of Stomberg, determined alternative forms of agriculture and discerned how the students could produce food more efficiently. The food service bought all the growing systems for the program. Lunch in the cafeteria includes lettuce the students literally grew.
SCHS is under renovation to improve the technical education and ag education areas. Included is a small animal lab, complete with fish tanks that house tilapia, bluegills, perch and even at one point, a sturgeon.
This past December, Stomberg’s class took a field trip to Brei’s Aqua Farm in Leopolis with a behind-the-scenes tour of the shrimp operation there, inspiring students to learn more about aquatic fish farming and sustainable food production.
As well as teaching agriculture for more than 30 years, Stomberg is an FFA adviser, involved with the FFA alumni, serves as the cross country coach, and is vice president of the Shawano Athletic Booster Club — making connections and building relationships over his lifelong teaching tenure, volunteering his efforts to promote family-centered connections and to encourage camaraderie.
“I am involved with many different facets around this community, which in turn shapes relationships with parents and as such, trickles right down to the kids,” said Stomberg.
SCHS recently renamed its cross country invite the Steve Stomberg Invitational to honor Stomberg’s decades of leadership and dedication to youth.
“My teaching career has been such a big part of my life, but after so many years there’s been lots of changes,” Stomberg said. “Teachers have to wear many hats outside the arena of actual hands-on teaching. We are educators, counselors, cheerleaders, disciplinarians, emotional support people and sometimes we even act as a parent.”
The world’s constant changes with increased demands for student learning and accountability — paralleled with a responsibility to grasp an understanding of the diverse student population — leaves teachers to deal with societal changes that directly impact what they can and cannot do in their classrooms.
At one point in 2007, during a cross country meet, Stomberg assisted a participant as the youth had experienced a health emergency. He was later credited for saving this young man’s life. As a result, in front of the Wisconsin Assembly, Stomberg was recognized by former Rep. Peter Schmidt, the very man he had saved that day during the cross country meet. He was honored with the distinction of receiving a Hometown Hero Award for his efforts. Recognition that day also included many years of teaching, advising and coaching countless students and athletes.
Married for 25 years, Stomberg’s wife teaches at Ashwaubenon High School in Green Bay. They’ve raised two boys, Bryce, who lives in Bend, Oregon, and Brady, currently a senior at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
“I’d want to be remembered as someone who loved teaching his subject areas and tried to encourage students to participate in everything possible while in school,” Stomberg said. “I love the kids. I can go out in this community and whether it be at a gas station, Walmart, Charlie’s, wherever — I always run into a former student and many times just have some great conversation. Past students are treated as friends, and hopefully, I somehow encouraged them to be where they are at today. It was all about building relationships.”
