A Place to Grow

General studies student, Madison Pagats, is taking classes at Northampton Community College (NCC) to find her niche. After taking a gap year once she graduated high school, she was ready to continue her education and explore her interests. 

“The most unique thing about the general studies program is the ability to try different classes,” she says. 

So far, she’s had a few classes that have stood out to her at NCC. Pagats says that her political science class challenged the way she thinks and expanded her worldview. She thanks her English professors for making her realize she could thrive in higher education. 

After homeschooling, Pagats faced some obstacles initially entering into the world of higher education. Developmental classes in areas like math and chemistry and individualized attention for help writing research papers, have helped her succeed in college thus far.  

“I have found myself in new situations that are challenging, but I am able to work through them and learn from them. This is in part due to the amazing professors, club advisors, and Student Life staff,” she says. 

Agriculture and nature have always fascinated her, so, she got involved with two clubs at NCC that align with those interests. She's the president of both the Outdoors Club and Good Growers Club, and she says this helped her work on her leadership skills and make lifelong friends. She was honored with the Club Officer of the Year award this spring for her work with the Outdoors Club at the Student Life and Leadership Celebration and Award Ceremony, something that makes her very proud.  

^{Pagats accepting her Club Officier of the Year award}

“Working in nature and with animals brings me peace. I find it comforting to be outside, away from the regular world, and being around animals is really soothing,” says Pagats. 

Pagats also raises chickens and rabbits, which stemmed from a 4-H project and grew into something much larger. She shows and breeds both animals and uses the chickens for consumption. Pagats puts in a lot of time and energy each day to care for the animals, including watering, feeding, and understanding genetics for breeding, but it’s won her recognition for her efforts. She won Reserve Grand Champion Bantam at the PA Farm Show for one of her chickens and achieved a Grand Champion title with her rabbit, Sage. She serves as the Rabbit and Cavy Project Leader for the Northampton County 4-H program, a role that allows her to mentor the youngest members of the rabbit community and share her knowledge with them.  

In 2025, Pagats added Blue Valley Farm Show Queen to her resume. Through this title, she promotes the fair, agriculture, and the local community. She’s still the reigning queen, and at the end of the summer, she will pass the crown. 

"I’ve been to the PA Fair Queen Program Advocacy Day at the PA State Capital where I met with our local state representatives to advocate for our fair,” she says. “I’ve also participated in Ag Literacy Week, where I went to local libraries to read books about agriculture to kids."  

^{Queen Advocacy Day with Rep. Ann Flood}

Madison is getting closer to deciding her next steps. When she graduates from NCC in spring 2027, she plans to transfer to a popular agriculture program at Penn State University or Delaware Valley. She aims to make agriculture and animal science her focus, with the ultimate goal of one day landing a job in herds management for livestock. 

“I’m still figuring it out,” she says, but her involvement in her community and at NCC have made some of her passions evident. She’s leaning into what makes her most excited and pursuing that in the future.