Cal Poly Junior Wins Second Place in Business Pitch Contest at Conference for Minorities

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2016
 
Contact: AnnMarie Cornejo
805-756-2427; ancornej@calpoly.edu

 

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly agricultural business junior Jose Alvarez won second place in the business pitch contest at the recent national Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences annual conference in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
Alvarez, from Santa Maria, Calif., was selected from more than 50 applicants nationally to give his business pitch — patterned after the television show “Shark Tank” — to three industry judges. He proposed developing a nonprofit or cooperative organization to support the H2A visa program for farmworkers in California while also ensuring a labor force for small farmers. 
 
He received a plaque and a cash award.
 
Cal Poly agricultural science senior Angelica Aldana, from Bakersfield, Calif., was elected to national office. She will serve as a regional vice president starting May 1.
 
Agricultural science students Veronica Lemus, of Santa Paula, Calif., and Yessica Hernandez, Santa Maria, Calif., presented a poster titled “Experiences and Perceptions First Generation College of Agriculture Students Have of Higher Education,” in the undergraduate research poster contest.  
 
About Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences
MANRRS is a national society that welcomes membership of people of all racial and ethnic group participation in agricultural and related science careers. For student members, MANRRS provides role models and networking opportunities. MANRRS also offers students opportunities to enhance leadership and organizational and public speaking skills and to experience professional critique of scholarly work in a “user-friendly” environment. 
 
About Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Cal Poly is a nationally ranked, comprehensive polytechnic university. The university’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences is comprised of expert faculty members who take pride in their ability to transform academically motivated students into innovative professionals ready to solve the complex challenges associated with feeding the world in sustainable ways. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, including ranch land, orchards, vineyards and forests, all of which provide the basis for Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing methodology. It is the fifth-largest college of agriculture in the country, with 4,000 undergraduate students.

 

(Left to right) Cal Poly Agricultural Education and Communication Department Head Robert Flores, Veronica Lemus, Samara Guerra, Yessica Hernandez, Angelica Aldana, Jose Alvarez, and Professor Ann De Lay.  

 

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