WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:03.000 [MUSIC] 00:03.000 --> 00:09.000 YENI MARTINEZ: My name is Yeni Martinez. I am a Pest Control Advisor at Betteravia Farms. 00:09.000 --> 00:12.000 I have a certificate in pest control advising. 00:12.000 --> 00:17.000 What I do is basically manage 1,500 acres. 00:17.000 --> 00:24.000 So I have to monitor those fields, keep them clean from any pests, disease, fungal. 00:25.000 --> 00:28.000 [MUSIC] 00:31.000 --> 00:35.000 MARTINEZ: [SPEAKING MIXTECO] 00:35.000 --> 00:37.000 MARTINEZ'S MOTHER:[SPEAKING MIXTECO] 00:37.000 --> 00:40.000 MARTINEZ: My first language is Mixteco. 00:40.000 --> 00:44.000 It's an Indigenous language which comes from the region of Oaxaca in Mexico. 00:46.000 --> 00:49.000 My mom and dad primarily speak Mixteco. 00:51.000 --> 00:55.000 We came here in 2007. My parents work in agriculture. 00:55.000 --> 01:01.000 They work for a small farm picking berries, vegetables, and just doing other manual works. 01:01.000 --> 01:02.000 MARTINEZ: [SPEAKING MIXTECO] 01:02.000 --> 01:04.000 MARTINEZ'S MOTHER: [SPEAKING MIXTECO] 01:04.000 --> 01:10.000 MARTINEZ: So she used to work picking strawberries hourly. In the summer, it gets warm. Winter, it's very cold. 01:11.000 --> 01:15.000 She still has to go work, even if it's raining and muddy. 01:17.000 --> 01:26.000 For them, it was just getting up really early, getting us ready, and then them coming back home really late. 01:26.000 --> 01:31.000 From what I've heard, it was pretty hard, labor-intensive work. 01:33.000 --> 01:37.000 ERIN KRIER: Santa Maria has historically been a rural community. 01:39.000 --> 01:44.000 Agriculture is the biggest economic driver in this town and in this county. 01:44.000 --> 01:49.000 We actually didn't have an official agriculture program here at the college. 01:49.000 --> 01:52.000 KEVIN WALTHERS, Ph.D.: We have a lot of big farming operations here in Santa Maria. 01:52.000 --> 01:55.000 So the ability to build a new ag program and to restart that 01:55.000 --> 02:00.000 became really important for this college and for our board of trustees. 02:01.000 --> 02:06.000 KRIER: The ATE grant was actually the impetus to create an entire agriculture program, 02:06.000 --> 02:12.000 which now includes three different degrees and three different certificate programs. 02:12.000 --> 02:19.000 So we start with the fundamental classes, like biology and chemistry, and also introduction to plant science. 02:19.000 --> 02:25.000 And then also a qualified applicator class, which is a class that basically prepares students to take the exam. 02:28.000 --> 02:34.000 MARTINEZ: So right now, I'm working towards getting my license for pest control advising from the state of California. 02:34.000 --> 02:39.000 KRIER: Which one is the least susceptible to downy mildew? 02:39.000 --> 02:46.000 MARTINEZ: The one that becomes brown the first because it's killing off the downy mildew before it has a chance to spread throughout the plant. 02:46.000 --> 02:48.000 KRIER: That's exactly right. 02:48.000 --> 02:55.000 KRIER: I have a lot of students who come from agricultural backgrounds, whose parents work in the field, or they themselves have worked as pickers. 02:56.000 --> 03:04.000 So they have this love of agriculture, but they definitely want to do something within the industry that provides a living wage. 03:06.000 --> 03:12.000 KRIER: So you put the lens like, pretty close to your eye, and then just pull the leaf up until it comes into focus for you. 03:13.000 --> 03:18.000 KRIER: We have the student farm on campus, which is very handy - we call it our living laboratory - 03:18.000 --> 03:24.000 and so that we can actually go see some of the things in real life that we're talking about in the lecture. 03:24.000 --> 03:29.000 It's honeydew on the leaf, and then you'll have a secondary mold that'll like, just grow on it. 03:29.000 --> 03:31.000 FERNANDO MONTEALEGRE: Hi, Erin. KRIER: Hi, Fernando! 03:31.000 --> 03:32.500 MONTEALEGRE: How are you? KRIER: Nice to see you. Good. 03:32.500 --> 03:36.000 KRIER:We have a lot of industry partners who offer paid internships. 03:36.000 --> 03:44.000 MONTEALEGRE: It's really a symbiotic relationship between the company and the college to where the company can explain what the true needs are out in the field. 03:44.000 --> 03:55.000 And therefore, the college can tailor a program that will develop those skills into the students so that they can come into the labor force right away. 03:58.000 --> 04:01.000 MONTEALEGRE: Yeni did an internship three years ago. 04:01.000 --> 04:05.000 Really, we couldn't wait for him to hurry up and graduate so that he could join the team. 04:05.000 --> 04:12.000 You know, you talk about hitting ground running? That's exactly what the college prepared Yeni to do. 04:12.000 --> 04:18.000 MARTINEZ: Hey, I had a quick question. On 908 South, do you have any plans for irrigating? 04:19.000 --> 04:22.000 What I love about it is that I make the calls. 04:22.000 --> 04:27.000 When I'm walking the field, I decide what to spray, what to do, and what not to do. 04:29.000 --> 04:32.000 My parents love my job. They always ask me like, 'Hey, what are you seeing?' 04:32.000 --> 04:40.000 It's a better paying job rather than working at minimum wage. So I guess it gives me that stability in life. 04:40.000 --> 04:45.000 It's something I enjoy doing, so I don't wake up in the morning and be like, 'Ah, I don't want to go to work today!' 04:45.000 --> 04:48.000 It's like, 'OK – Let's get started.'