Student Success – Cultivate Spring 2021
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
Hannah Heath, a fourth-year nutrition major, received the 2021 Doris A. Howell Foundation - CSUPERB Research Scholar Award and a $3,500 scholarship for her research titled “Impact of Pre-pregnancy Lifestyle Intervention on Gestational Diabetes Prevention via Improvement of Metabolic Markers.” She is mentored by Assistant Professor Michael La Frano. The award is given to California State University students to fund promising undergraduate student research projects in topics related to women's health that are biotechnology related.
Megan Campbell, a fourth-year bioresource and agricultural engineering major, is one of five recipients of the Outstanding Women in Engineering Award. The award ceremony was hosted by the Women in Engineering Program and the Society of Women Engineers. Graduating engineering students were nominated by faculty members. Out of 20 nominees, five were selected to receive the award. Campbell plans to pursue a career in wetland and riparian restoration engineering.
The Cal Poly Dairy Judging Team earned fourth place overall, fourth place in oral reasons and fourth place in breeds at the virtual national competition held Nov. 14. Cal Poly's team was one of 11 university teams to compete.Contestants judged eight classes of cattle, provided by livestockjudging.com for the first-of-its-kind virtual event, then gave oral reasons on four of the classes to a nationally recognized panel of dairy judges via Zoom. Caroline Lee, a fourth-year dairy science major, ranked as the high individual in the Brown Swiss breed.
Agricultural communication freshman David Lopez-Larios was elected the National FFA western region vice president in October. He is serving alongside five colleagues on the 2020-21 National FFA Officer Team, representing the organization and assisting with virtual leadership workshops across the country.
Lopez-Larios discovered his passion for agriculture while attending high school in his hometown of Holtville, California. He chose Cal Poly because it felt like the “perfect fit” to continue his pursuit of making a positive impact on the agriculture industry. He plans to continue his education after Cal Poly to pursue a law degree. “My hope is to improve the quality of life for all agriculturists. I could potentially help devise solutions that better the quality of life for thousands of farm workers, while also ensuring producers are meeting their bottom lines. It would give me great joy to use my experiences in agricultural education as the foundation for this work, knowing how it would improve the lives of so many,” Lopez-Larios said.
He will take a year off from his studies at Cal Poly to fulfill his duties as a National FFA officer. During that time he will meet with CEOs and other company executives who sponsor and support FFA programs. Additionally, he will meet with legislators and members of the presidential cabinet to advocate for agricultural education. “The thing that I am looking forward to the most during this journey is getting to interact with students across the country. Now more than ever we need leaders who will step up and find ways to create opportunities for others. During my time serving on this team, I hope to help move the needle forward toward diversity, inclusion and equity for all members involved in the National FFA Organization,” he said.
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