Latinos in Agriculture (November 2019)

Latinos in Agriculture really strives to develop leadership and professional development skills. Throughout the year, our club puts on two events where we focus on introducing high school students and transfer students to the opportunities available to them at post-graduation from high school and junior college. Through our events we hope to inspire students to pursue higher education and to improve their leadership and professional skills all while promoting the agriculture industry.

We plan on taking eight highly motivated Cal Poly students to the 35th annual career fair and training conference that will take place in Minneapolis, MN on April 1st-4th, 2020. Our goal is to have our students compete nationally in the various contests offered at this conference hosted by Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences organization (MANRRS).

MANRRS is an organization that helps bring individuals from different backgrounds and skill sets together to find commonalities and enjoy the differences among themselves and understand why they are important. At the national conference, our students will compete in contests focused on developing professional skills like impromptu speeches, elevator speeches and business pitch competitions. Other ways that our members will benefit from this opportunity is by having the platform to present their research in the undergraduate and graduate oral research competition and research poster competition. By attending the national conference, our students will be able to connect with fellow students and professionals from over 65 colleges, universities and businesses that represent government, industry, academia and non-profit organizations nationwide. Our students will also be able to prepare for new roles and improve/refine their current knowledge and skills through the many workshops that are put on by industry and academia professionals. If our students are able to attend, they’ll have the opportunity to come back with internships or job offers from various leading agricultural companies. With the new leadership and professional skills that our members develop, they will able to pass on those skills and experiences to the high school students and junior college students we connect with. This brings it back full-circle to encouraging higher education and inspiring future generations!