New CAFES Advising Member

Austin Ferguson recently joined the CAFES Advising team to support students in the Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences department. Before this role, he worked at the Mustang Success Center, where he guided first-year students and Cal Poly Scholars in CAFES. 

2025 Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program

Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program. This prestigious program encourages and develops future leaders and prepares individuals for greater civic involvement. Cal Poly has participated in this program since 2001. This opportunity is open to qualified students from any major who have an interest in Congress, civil leadership or public service and are matriculating third or fourth-year students. Complete program requirements and details are available at https://provost.calpoly.edu/content/internship. The application deadline is Friday, Feb. 14, by 11:59 p.m. PST. 

Agricultural Communication Student Chairs National Event

The National ACT Professional Development Conference (PDC), an annual national event for agriculture communication students with opportunities to advance professional and personal development, was held mid-January at Oklahoma State University. Third-year agricultural communication major Andrew Angulo attended as the national president of the organization and also on behalf of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow club within the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. 

Angulo presented at one of the sessions on civic engagement in agriculture, sharing agricultural policies from California and their economic and political implications on American agriculture. “As the national president of this organization, I also chaired the 2025 PDC Annual Business Meeting where business surrounding National ACT was discussed,” he said. “The National ACT PDC hosted over 30 speakers ranging from careers as journalists for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau to Dr. Clary, the Associate Dean of the Ferguson College of Agriculture and Cal Poly alumni.”

Equestrian Team Takes High Point Title

The Cal Poly Equestrian Team hosted its collegiate western show at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center on Jan. 25 and 26. Reedley College, College of the Sequoias, Stanford, U.C. Davis, Cal Poly Pomona and Sonoma State were also in attendance. Cal Poly won Reserve High Point Team on Saturday and High Point Team on Sunday. Fellow Mustangs Baeya Kardokus and Anna Carmen won reserve high point rider on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Fresh Tracks student panelists discuss academic experience

On Jan. 16, four CAFES students shared their personal experiences of being first-generation college students. Brooklyn McGruder, Maya Tjan, Luis Cruzgarcia and Dayana Santiago were the panelists who answered questions and gave advice on maximizing the value of a college education. Their stories and desire to improve the diversity of the college’s students are paving the way for future first-generation students to find their place at Cal Poly.

ITRC students awarded WUC Scholarship at Annual Conference

Three Cal Poly students were awarded the Water Users’ Conference Scholarship at the 57th Annual Mid-Pacific Water Users’ Conference (WUC) on Jan. 31. Bioresource and agricultural engineering students Emma Schmitt, Brandon Forgie and Samantha Albiani were honored at the conference.

The scholarship is available to students pursuing fields of study in the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department and the Irrigation Training and Research Center at Cal Poly. Recipients are selected based on GPA, leadership, and merit, and the scholarship includes a $3,000 award for second-year students, with the potential for two subsequent $1,500 scholarships if a 3.0 GPA is maintained.

Along with the three scholarship recipients, BRAE students Reagan Denny and Paul Horta presented their research posters at the conference.