Student Success
Definition of Success
1 a: degree or measure of succeeding b: satisfactory completion of something c: the gaining of wealth, respect or fame 2: a person or thing that succeeds
First Place
The Cal Poly Soil Judging Team won first place in the Regional 6 Collegiate Soil Judging Competition held Nov. 3 at Bartleson Ranch in Arroyo Grande, California. The competition, sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America, challenged students to describe, classify and interpret soils in the field in a competitive setting using standards established by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Cal Poly’s team, comprised of nine students, took first place in group judging; first, second and third place in the individual competition; and first place overall. Forestry and natural resources major Braden Povah won first place overall in the individual competition. Senior environmental earth and soil sciences major Ryan Cunning took second place and junior environmental management and protection major Blake Toney took third. Cal Poly will host the next phase of competition April 14-19, when 24 teams from across the country attend the National Collegiate Soil Judging Competition.
Top Ten
All four members of the Cal Poly Floral Team placed in the Top 10
at the California State Floral Association’s (CSFA) annual event held Nov. 3-4 in Carlsbad, California, with one student taking second place. Agricultural science junior Amber Buzzard won second place overall and the People’s Choice category. Other winners included agricultural and environmental plant sciences junior Megan Borzone, who won fifth place, agricultural and environmental plant sciences senior Jennifer Apland, who took sixth place, and agricultural communication sophomore Emma Blair, who came in ninth place.
Regional Win
The Cal Poly ROTC took first place at the 8th Brigade’s Best Ranger Challenge in January at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Seattle, Washington, advancing the team to the national Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at West Point in April. The Cal Poly team competed against the top teams in the western region, including teams from the University of Montana and the University of Hawaii. The team previously won first place at the regional 2018 Ranger Challenge at Camp San Luis Obispo in October, marking the first time in six years that the Cal Poly ROTC team has advanced to the next stage of the competition.
Case Study Win
Agribusiness seniors Maya Capurro- Frosch and Mackenzie Zeimet, junior Jenna Maturino and recent graduate Valerie Perez took first place in
the Food Distribution Research Society's case study competition in Washington, D.C. in September for their efforts to devise a solution to the problem of coordinating farmers' market cooperation in the greater Washington, D.C. area.
High Honors
Twenty-six Cal Poly students received American FFA Degrees, the highest award bestowed upon FFA members. A group of students attended the Na-tional FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana to personally accept the degrees on stage in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Visit the Cultivate Spring 2019 Page to read more stories.