Ag Ambassadors

Meet Our Ag Ambassadors

  

Name:  Therese Nicole Bruno

Major:  Animal Science/Pre-Vet Option

Year in School:  Third Year

Age:  20 years old.

College Activities:  Ag Ambassadors- President, Pre Vet Club- Treasurer, and the Cal Poly Dance Team- The Broncette’s- Treasurer.

Hobbies:  Dancing, drawing, painting, spending time with friends and family in Sand Diego, and working with animals.

Hometown:  San Diego, Ca

High School:  Chula Vista High School

Work:  Full-time student, and volunteering with Project Wildlife at the San Diego Zoo.

Career Plans:  I plan on becoming a veterinarian for The San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park, and traveling throughout the world to promote conservation efforts of our world’s most wild and exotic animals.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  My favorite experience was saving a lamb from, literally, the jaws of a coyote and rehabilitating it back good health.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  I enjoy being an Ag Ambassador because I am proud of Cal Poly Pomona’s legacy in the College of Agriculture. Without Ag Ambassadors, many people would not know of our amazing school, and thus, it is essential that we promote it. I am proud of where I have come from and what I have experienced at Cal Poly and want to share that with California agriculture high schools.

 

Name: Amanda Carr

Major: Food and Nutrition (Dietetics)

Year in School:  4th year

Age: 30

College Activities: HNFS Mentor Chair, HNFS Banquet Committee, FN Forum member and e-board member, Ag Ambassador Historian.

Hobbies:  Dancing, reading, working in my garden, hiking, camping, and kayaking, really just about anything outdoors, traveling and spending time with my family.

Hometown: Duncanville, TX

High School: Duncanville High School

Transferred From: Mt. San Antonio College

Work:  Full-time student, wife, and mother of an energetic 2 year old daughter.

Career Plans:  I would like to attend graduate school to obtain my Masters degree and then complete an internship program so that I can become a Registered Dietitian.  I would like to work in the Nutrition field and then bring my experiences into the classroom and be a college professor.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  I don’t have just one favorite Cal Poly experience.  Everything that I have done since coming here has been a fun experience and I have enjoyed meeting so many new people and building new friendships.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  As an Ag Ambassador, I hope to be able to provide valuable information to potential students, to give them the tools to make an important decision about their future.  I hope to be able to share some of my experiences with them and educate them about the options available within the College of Ag.  I am excited about being an Ag Ambassador and I am looking forward to being a representative of the school.

 

Name:  Rochelle Huls

Major:  Animal Science (Pre-Vet option)

Year in School:  3rd

Age:  19

College Activities:  Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Ag Ambassador, and Pre-vet club.

Hobbies:  Dirt biking, camping, and singing.

Hometown:  Escondido, California

High School:  Orange Glen High School

Work:  Cal Poly Pomona Parking & Transportation Services Community Service Officer

Career Plans: I plan on becoming a large animal vet for the meat industry or working as an inspector for the USDA.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  My favorite Cal Poly Pomona experience was in my AVS 327L (Meat Science and Industry). I loved being able to process meat and learn cuts of beef, lamb, and pork. The lab is a great learning environment and opened my eyes to a potential career in the USDA.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  My goal as an Ag. Ambassador is to get potential students interested in Cal Poly Pomona and the College of Ag. I want to inform students that Ag is so much more than farming and holds many opportunities for success. I hope that students will take interest in my experiences at Cal Poly and dream of making their own.

 

Name:  Jessica Gordon

Major:  Animal Science: Pre-Vet

Year in School:  4th

Age:  21

College Activities:  Pre- Vet Club- Vice- President 08-09,  Fundraiser Chair  07-08, Member 05-present; Associated Students/Ag Council-Agriculture Senator 08-09; Ag Ambassador- 07-08, 09-10; Colleges Against Cancer- Treasurer 08-09; and Relay for Life- Fight Back Chair/Fundraiser Chair/ Advocacy Chair 08-09.

Hobbies:  Hiking, camping, reading, and traveling.

Hometown:  Monrovia, CA

High School:  La Salle High School

Work:  Being a Student!

Career Plans:  Become a veterinarian or go into Student Affairs.

Favorite Cal Poly Pomona Experience:  Pumpkin Festival!!

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  I hope to be able to grab the attention of the high school students we present to and show them how wonderful our university is. My biggest goal for next year is to reach a higher number of total schools visited then the last time I was an Ag Ambassador. Both of these things are important to me because the College of Ag is important to me and I feel it needs to be shared with others.

  

Name:  Lisette Gutierrez

Major: Apparel Merchandising and Management, Retail Option. I also plan to minor in IBM.

Year in School:  4th year, transfer student

Age:  21

College Activities:  I am a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. I also hold the council position of Secretary.

Hobbies:  I don’t have many, but I enjoy getting involved with my sorority with campus events, I’m into applying makeup, and as any other college student…I love to sleep when there’s time for it.

Hometown:  My parents live in Hemet, Ca. I don’t have a real hometown, because I come from a military family and we moved around.

High School:  I graduated from Hemet High School in 2005.

Transferred From: I transferred from Mount San Jacinto College, in San Jacinto, Ca. I graduated from there in 2007 with: an Associate of Science, Business Administration, and an Associate of Arts, Liberal Arts.

Work:  I currently work at a small business as an accounting assistant. I handle all the office paperwork.

Career Plans:  After graduation I plan to find a corporate job with an apparel company; possibly in visual merchandising.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  My sorority holds an annual philanthropic event called Shamrock, which involves different fraternities on campus, similar to a male pageant. We’ve raised and donated over $10,000 to Prevent Child Abuse of America. This event is one of my favorite Cal Poly experiences because if I didn’t attend Cal Poly, I wouldn’t be involved with this experience on campus.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  I am very excited to be an Ag Ambassador. I think it's important because I’d be transferring knowledge to others who may or may not be interested in attending Cal Poly. Also, it’d be really great to be able to persuade those not interested, into actually attending Cal Poly. I hope that I will not be nervous, and that I’ll be a great speaker.

 

 

Name:  Heather Hoffmann

Major:  Animal Science/ Pre-vet option

Year in School:  5th year

Age:  23

College Activities:  Ag Ambassador

Hobbies:  Reading, drawing, playing video games, exercising, shopping, hiking, backpacking, and stargazing.

Hometown:  Moreno Valley

High School:  Valley View high school

Work: Cal Poly Animal At-Care Facilty as a student assistant .

Career Plans:  I want to work at a zoo as a veterinarian.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  I love working hands on in several of my classes at the animal units.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  I want to be able to show prospective students how great Cal Poly is and to share my experiences with them and what it means to be an Aggie.

 

Name:  Emely Maravilla

Major:  Animal Science/ Pre-Vet

Year in School:  3rd

Age:  19

College Activities:  Pre-Vet Club Event Coordinator, Foal Watch, IHSA 07-08, AHSTA, and volunteer at the Sheep and Swine Unit.

Hobbies:  Volunteer at the Humane Society of SB, drawing, dancing, and playing with my pets.

Hometown:  Los Angeles, CA

High School:  A.B. Miller High School (Fontana, CA)

Work:  Full time student.

Career Plans:  First, I hope to make it into grad school after Cal Poly and eventually open a small animal practice with a partner. Many years from now, when I’m more than a few years from retiring I would like to help the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS).

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  My favorite experience was my first AVS lab, with Professor Fonda. I had to clip piglet teeth, vaccinate, and clip ears and castrate male pigs; this was something I had never attempted in my life so this experience was phenomenal.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  So, I just became an Ag Ambassador, and this is a wonderful opportunity that I hope to take advantage of. I hope to gain knowledge about the College of Agriculture and gain some leadership skills that will help me reach my career goals. I also wish to inform high school seniors about our wonderful Aggie life here at Cal Poly.

 

Name:  Skylar Matthews

Major:  Animal Science, Pre-Vet

Year in School:  Freshman

Age:  18

College Activities:  Pre-Vet Club, Foal Watch, and tutor at the Pomona Public Library.

Hobbies:  Knitting, watching movies, road trips, reading, and baking.

Hometown:  Redlands,CA

High School:  Redlands High School

Work:  Full-time student.

Career Plans:  Become a veterinarian.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  My favorite Cal Poly Pomona experience so far has been the first day of AVS 114 lab.  I got to process two piglets and it was amazing having so much hands on experience on the first day.  It was a lot of fun and afterwards it confirmed that working with animals is definitely what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  I think being an Ag Ambassador is one of the best ways to get involved with the college as a whole, because you get to learn about every aspect of it, not just about your own major.  I hope that this position will give me an even stronger sense of pride for being an Aggie.  I want to learn about all we have to offer and share this information with potential students.

 

 

Name:  Merilyn Montes

Major:  Animal Health Science

Year in School:  3rd

Age:  20

College Activities:  Ag Ambassador, AHSTA Club, Foal Watch Team, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc., and SDLI.

Hobbies:  Exercising, healthy eating, singing, dancing, reading, and learning.

Hometown:  Torrance, CA

High School:  North High School

Work:  Currently employed at Sanrio in Little Tokyo and intern at the Affordable Animal Clinic in Torrance.

Career Plans:  I plan to become a Registered Veterinary Technologist and work with wildlife, livestock, or within any field. Life is full of opportunities.

Favorite Cal Poly Pomona Experience:  Training sheep for the Great Western Show in Tulare was an entirely new and different experience. I have gained quite some knowledge in that area of livestock care and show that I never knew about. Also, chasing after sheep for extensive periods of time in AHS 129L.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  I feel accomplished now that I have been selected as an Ag Ambassador. My objective is to inspire and educate prospective students about becoming involved with the College of Agriculture at Cal Poly Pomona. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to share my wonderful experiences of being a part of a new community, meeting fresh faces, and engaging in activities that are worthwhile. Future students, as well as current students, have all been in the same shoes, and with the help of each other, we can succeed and make our dreams a reality!

 

Name:  Brenda E. Morales

Major:  Dietetics

Year in School:  Third Year

Age:  20

College Activities:  Hermanas Unidas (HaU) Health Advisor 08-09, and FN Forum. 

Hobbies:  Dancing, running, reading, scrapbooking, and pilates.

Hometown:  North Hollywood, CA

High School:  North Hollywood High School

Work:  Full-time student.

Career Plans:  Become a Registered Dietitian and go into Community or Clinical Nutrition, mainly to work in pediatric nutrition.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  BroncoFusion.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  As an Ag Ambassador, I hope to become more familiar and more involved in the College of Agriculture. I want to help recruit high school students and become more confident with public speaking. My goal is to improve my communication and leadership skills, meet new people, and enjoy this experience. It means a lot to me to be an Ag Ambassador, because when I was in high school, I never had anyone come to my school to talk about college. The fact that I have the opportunity to help encourage high school students to continue on with their education, and give them an overview of the many opportunities that the College of Agriculture at Cal Poly offers, is really important to me because I want to be able to use my college experience and knowledge to help others. 

 

 

Name:  Malynn Porayanee

Major:  Food Science and Technology, Pre-Professional Track

Year in School:  3rd  year

Age:  21

College Activities:  Ag Ambassador, FSS

Hobbies:  Swimming, eating, shopping, and volunteering at a pre-school.

Hometown:  South Pasadena, CA

Career Plan:  I would like to take the OAT and go to optometry school.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  FST 125, when a guest speaker came from a chocolate factory gave about eight different kinds of chocolates around the world for the class to try.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  I want to let everyone know about the great programs we offer at Cal Poly Pomona. I also want to explain to everyone that agriculture isn’t just about farming, and there’s a lot more to the major.

 

 

Name:  Jackie Smith

Major:  Food Marketing & Agribusiness Management

Year in School:  3rd

Age:  21

College Activities:  FMAM club member and Ag Ambassador

Hobbies:  Nature hikes, camping, biking, skating, jogging, and many other outdoor activities and athletics, drawing, artwork, reading, movies, music, and spending time with loved ones and friends.

Hometown:  Keelung, Taiwan

High School:  West Covina High School

Work:  Annual Fund at Cal Poly Pomona

Career Plans:  I am interested in working with a food advertising, marketing, and/or food company.

Favorite Cal Poly Experience:  My favorite Cal Poly experience thus far was the trip to the San Diego Fancy Food Winter Conference. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet new and interesting food companies that many other people do not know about, and was able to enjoy the different and unique taste of their food products. Another favorite experience was meeting and getting to know the fun and friendly people that I meet all the time at the university.

Personal Statement About Being an Ag Ambassador:  This will be my second year as an Ag Ambassador and I can say that I will be looking forward to an exciting new year and also my last year as an Ag Ambassador. Being an Ag Ambassador has allowed me to share my knowledge and experiences as well as make new ones that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. I hope that I made a positive difference in students’ lives and made someone think twice about what they think they would like to do in the future. I believe that I had a successful first year and that I will make it my best the second and last time around.