Community Involvement & Industry Visits

BRAE Department Participates in the 26 Hours Program: “Science and Technology in Agriculture”

The 26 Hours Program celebrates its 20th year when it returned to Cal Poly Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7, 2008. This program began as a senior project designed to promote the College of Agriculture by bringing high school students from the Los Angeles area to Cal Poly for a couple of days to introduce them to the university, college, and departments. After three years, the Latinos in Agriculture Club adopted the program and have been hosting it since. The goal of the 26 Hour Program is to promote diversity within the college. This event has grown so popular that the television station Univision was there to film the occasion.

The high schools that attended Cal Poly's 26 Hour Program were All Tribes American Indian Charter School, Bloomington High School, Carpinteria High School, Corcoran High School, Everett Alvarez High School, Gonzales High School, Hanford High School, King City High School, Perris High School, Santa Paula High School, and Soledad High School. May Buren Elementary School also attended for part of the second day's events.

The program encourages prospective students to not “lose sight of your future. Cal Poly is prepared to assist you in reaching your goal of a college education. Do your part!” On the first day, students took a campus tour after registration. Before lunch, Salvador Hurtado, President of Latinos in Agriculture, and Professor Larry Shuklian (AGED) started off the program with a lively introduction. The Agricultural Ambassadors followed with an ice breaker for the students. Students enjoyed a barbeque lunch served by BRAE's Agricultural Engineering Society and other BRAE students. Following lunch, the students proceeded to the "world of plants" workshops, then to California Cheese, Livestock Evaluation, and Consumer Reactions to the e-Coli Outbreaks of 2007. The second day students went to a soils workshop and an embryo manipulation workshop. The BRAE department also offered a “Dynamic Modeling” workshop that was taught by Dr. Mark Zohns. Zohns had some BRAE students assist him with the workshop throughout the morning: Brandie Feddema, Brad Rahrer, Jeff Carr, Dominic Tartaglia, Matt Bassett, Lindsey Tulloch, and Daniel Holtz.

Zohns began the workshop by posing the question “what do engineers do?” He then differentiated between the different engineering degrees offered at Cal Poly by mentioning mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. Many students were unsure as to what “BioResource and Agricultural Engineers do.” He explained how the BRAE program is a culmination of all of the other engineering programs and allows for more career opportunities than many other degree programs. Students were able to work in modeling software where they modeled mechanical systems to see how they react. They were asked to draw a ball on the computer and then a rectangle below that would stop the ball from falling. Zohns went into further explanation as to why the ball drops and how the ball is stopped using forces such as friction. Students were able to grasp the importance of modeling through computer application so that the behavior of machines can be predicted before it happens in the real world.

As a past participant in the 26 Hour Program, Noe Gonzales, BRAE Student and 26 Hour Program Coordinator, felt this year's program went very smoothly. Students were impressed and the faculty were enthusiastic. Gonzales reflected on his experience participating in the 26 Hour Program as a high school student and believes “it is possible for anyone to attend college if they set it as a goal. Students should know that they can always consider the Latinos in Agriculture Club or the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences as a home base or support system.” In the future, Gonzales noted that there has been some talk of expanding the program to other colleges other than agriculture, but it still has yet to be determined how the logistics would work, if program hours would need to be extended, or if there would be enough workshops. For now, the 26 Hours Program remains a great way to reach out to minority students and encourage post-secondary or higher education within communities.

BRAE Industry Advisory Council Wrap Up

The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) invited industry members to campus for the industry advisory council meetings on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. Industry members received a welcome from the Dean, Dave Wehner, and then proceeded to the dedication of the Animal Nutrition Center and ground breaking for the J & G Lau Family Meat Processing Center . During the afternoon the group heard from speakers on “Maintaining Our Freedom to Operate” and “The Effect of Wild Fires on Climate Change.” That evening, industry members, CAFES staff, and CAFES faculty acknowledged those individuals who have exemplified outstanding service within their respective department and for the college at the annual Faculty and Staff Appreciation Banquet.

On Thursday, March 20, 2008, the BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Industry Advisory Council members joined Richard Cavaletto, BRAE Department Head, and the BRAE faculty for a day long meeting. The meeting was centered around what the department has been up to the past year and where it will go in the future. This meeting was of specific importance since the BRAE program is due for accreditation review this coming fall 2008.

Preparation for the Future

Approaching the Professional Frontier (BRAE Dept. Career Fair)

The BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department Career Fair on Thursday, March 6, 2008, went off with a bang, thanks in large part to ASM student Dominic Tartaglia, who planned and coordinated the event. We would like to thank all of our students who helped organize the event and thank industry members for participating in the career fair and taking an interest in our graduates.

Industry members gathered around 10am to set up for the event. Students and professionals were able to meet and greet while enjoying refreshments as well. The career fair featured twenty-six companies that were recruiting for both full-time and internship positions. These companies included Acme Engineering Inc., Aeroteck E&E, Ag Industrial Manufacturing, Cachuma Resource Conservation District, County of Monterey Ag Commissioners, Deerpoint Group, Inc., Diamond of California, FMC FoodTech, George Cairo Engineering, Inc., Granite Construction, J.G. Boswell Company, John Deere Water Technologies, Odenburg Engineering, Inc., Paramount Farms, Parsons Corporation, Preston Pipelines, Provost & Pritchard Engineering, Rain for Rent, S K Foods, San Benito County Water District, Solano Irrigation District, Sunview Vineyards of CA, Inc., USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Valley Crest Companies, Wallace Group, and Woodside Electronics.

Tartaglia began preparations for the Career Fair in November 2007 with the help of Lindsey Tulloch (ASM student), Jeff Carr (ASM student), and Brandie Feddema (BRAE student). Activity ramped up in February as companies began to RSVP. “Overall I feel the career fair went really well. We filled up the entire shop, companies were happy to be there and appreciative of the opportunity, and we had a good turnout of both students and companies,” noted Tartaglia. He also commented on how the career fair “helps industry develop relationships with the department and maintain existing relationships. It also allows students to meet those within industry and see what career options lay ahead of them.” Feddema also felt the career fair “went very well. A lot of companies seemed interested in hiring our students. She [I] was impressed with how professional the students appeared and acted.” Other students that helped with preparations for the career fair were Daniel Inks (BRAE student), Craig Monteiro (ASM student), and Leah Meeks (BRAE student).

If you missed out on the event, be sure to attend next year! Good luck to our juniors and seniors who have interviews approaching!

Career Resources: Business Ettiquette

Attention juniors and seniors! Since many of you have upcoming interviews for full-time or internship positions, we wanted to provide you with some basic business etiquette to keep in mind throughout your interviewing process.

1. When considering what to wear, here are a few simple rules to follow.
• Keep your outfit simple (limit your jewelry)
• When interviewing, always err on the side of conservatism. It is recommended that you wear a suit when interviewing (preferably navy blue or charcoal grey as black can be too formal).
2. Remember to always say thank you.
3. Before your interview, research the company to make sure you are familiar with the business. This research can also help you in preparing questions to ask the employer.
4. Visit the career services website to preview sample interview questions that prospective employers commonly ask. You can also prepare by listing three to five strengths and then thinking of actual examples of how you exemplified each of those strengths.
5. If your interview takes place over a meal, order something that is hands-free and not messy.
6. When introducing yourself, always make eye contact and smile. Be as friendly as possible!
7. Most importantly, be confident in yourself and your abilities and relax!