Digital badges are graphic representations of skills gained through a learning experience awarded to learners and shared with a broader audience through web-based platforms. Digital badges and the associated metadata overcome challenges presented by traditional grades, diplomas, and certificates, which lack critical details such as context, skills, and knowledge represented by paper awards. Digital badges have been awarded since 2023 as part of the research component for the Virginia Governor’s School for Agriculture (VGSA), a month-long summer residential program for gifted and advanced rising high school juniors and seniors hosted by Virginia Tech. The on-campus program focuses on the transdisciplinary nature of agriculture and on developing future leaders and scientists for careers in agriculture. This study examined how many digital badges were issued and where they were most frequently shared to understand how students shared their digital badges after the program concluded. Since 2023, 194 students have participated in digital badging as part of a research-focused instructional pathway. 97% percent of students earned the Responsible Researcher (ethics) badge; 100% earned the Public Presenter (presentation skills) badge; 98% percent received the Visual Communicator (data visualization) badge; 89% earned the Scientific Ambassador (communicating to the public) badge; 98% were awarded the Scholarly Writer (writing) badge, and 96% earned the Collaborative Researcher (collaboration) badge. In total, 84% of students fulfilled all the requirements to earn the Global Seminar Pathway Completer badge. The students communicated their credentials across a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook (10), Twitter (2), Pinterest Feed (3), Canvas ePortfolios (6), and LinkedIn (335) for a total of 356 shares. Based on conversations with the participants, they found value in earning digital badges so they could easily communicate the skills they learned with others, and the added competitiveness incentivized them to challenge themselves and their teams.