Ryo H.
Ryo chose agronomy as a major when he went to New Mexico State University as he felt it was very practical for the future. Compared to what is learned for other degrees, he found that soil and plants seemed ‘more real.’ Coming back to the area after a year, he enrolled at Cabrillo. He then used the transfer path to CSUMB.
“It was a very positive experience, and I learned a lot. I’ve found the reference materials still come in handy,” says Ryo.
Ryo took a lot of different classes at Cabrillo, most with an ag focus but some in landscaping and hydroponics. There is such a broad range of classes he now wishes that he had taken more, such as irrigation.
“Cabrillo has such a good reputation and impressive facilities like the greenhouses.”
Ryo believes that Cabrillo did prepare him well for transferring to CSUMB and for the upper-level classes.
His advice is to take as many classes as you can, and you are interested in. Save the materials for the future as they will come in useful.
“Enjoy your time, it's great, one of the best programs out there.”
Damian M.
Although Damian M. spent time with his dad in agriculture growing up, he didn’t know it was a field he wanted to pursue until he started an internship, only available from the Horticulture department.
“My dad worked in berry production and with other crops, and he took me around to show me what he was doing. I thought it was interesting but not the career that I’d pursue,” says Damian.
Damian took time off from school after high school and worked picking berries and doing farm maintenance. He gained experience and liked working with plants, but he still didn’t think ag was what he was going to pursue in the future.
He went back to school, working toward a CIS major at Cabrillo, but it wasn’t interesting to him. He talked with Sarah Hulick about horticulture before deciding to switch programs.
His first class was interesting, and then he took Introduction to Berry Production.
“I found the class interesting, and that’s when I really started thinking that agriculture might be the career for me. Later, Sarah helped me get an internship I never would have known about if I wasn’t in the program. The internship at Hortifrut exposed me to plant breeding. This is when I knew 100% what I wanted to do.”
Damian has recently transferred to UC Davis, working toward his plant science degree with a focus on plant breeding and genetics.
“This continues what I learned during my internship. I got a good foundation at Cabrillo.”
Damian and his father work in different aspects of agriculture, but they are learning from each other and exchanging useful information.
Alex V.
In his archeology class, Alex V. learned about the agricultural revolution changing how society lived. As this was during the COVID pandemic, he became skeptical of how stable big agricultural is currently. This led him to join the horticulture program.
“My time at Cabrillo was fantastic. I learned how to grow organic fruits and vegetables as a student and as a student assistant. I learned the importance of having a plan and staying on top of mundane tasks like weeding. I also learned working together is much easier than working alone. In the program, I realized you should love what you do so you can do it all day long. You must be able to study and sweat hard, but not forget to slow down to smell the flowers, enjoy the birds and bees, and feel the cool breeze.,” says Alex.
Alex now works at the research facility Ohalo which works to make a positive impact on big agriculture and food deserts with new technology and innovation. Alex works closely with the plants and the science team.
“Since it’s for research, each plant is very important. Which differs from big commercial production which focuses on quantity.”
In the future, Alex wants to start an intentional living community.
“I want it to be a place where people can be free to not only grow their own food but also grow and heal themselves and get in touch with who they really are and come back to Mother Earth.”
Jessica V.
Jessica V. started the Horticulture program thinking she wanted to be an organic field grower, but her greenhouse and hydroponics classes led her to focus on controlled environment agriculture as a way to grow more food on less land. She couldn't get away from organics, so she consistently worked on how to make hydroponics organic. She worked for five years at Jacobs Farm/del Cabo, first as the organic hydroponics grower as assistant breeder and later as Greenhouse Manager. Following Jacobs Farm, Jessica opened the Grower Consulting department for LumiGrow, Inc. and later took over as Director of Operations and Grower Consulting. Now she has circled back to organic field production. During COVID, LumiGrow shut down due to supply chain issues out of Asia where their equipment was manufactured and programmed.
“I had formed strong relationships with greenhouse growers during this challenging time and continued working with them pro bono. That led to starting my own consulting business," says Jessica.
She had an opportunity to develop a lettuce scouting protocol for a local company. Giving credit to the professional networking within the Horticulture program, Jessica has expanded her consulting business to include field scouting for local organic growers.
“I met Organic Crop Scout Doug O’Brien when I took his class at Cabrillo, and we continued our professional relationship over the years. I was completely new to field scouting so I asked if I could shadow him.”
As Doug is working toward retirement and reducing his hours, he offered to teach her his scouting techniques and help her set up a consulting business.
Her business is growing with a select group of local organic growers of vegetables, herbs, berries, and cut flowers.
“The work is fabulous – I love it! It’s been terrifying to build my own business, but I love the work.”
Jessica can’t stress enough the importance of the connections she made at Cabrillo. She credits her success to what she learned in the program and the connections she made with industry experts.
“The faculty are top notch instructors who enjoy getting their hands dirty and giving value to the students. I remember Doug encouraging all students to stay in touch after the end of the class. This reflects the caliber of all instructors. This network has served me throughout my career.”
She encourages all students to take advantage of and enjoy the relationships they build in the program. The local ag community is rewarding to work with.
View Jessica's videos on LinkedIn.